The construction of the Recreation, Fitness and Wellness Center continues into the fall semester.
The ongoing construction at the RFWC is part of the $12 million renovation project announced August 2022. The construction project relocates Counseling and Psychological Services, Public Safety and the University Health Center into the RFWC.
The construction resulted in the partial closing of the northbound lane of University Blvd. in front of the construction area March 28. Northbound traffic is currently diverted to the southbound lane, where there will be two-way traffic until the Performance Center dock cut-out. Northbound traffic is then redirected back to the northbound lane of University Blvd.
Keelyn Wilkerson, freshman accounting major, said the construction bothers her because it has resulted in flooding inside the RFWC after rain.
“It personally bothers me because, due to the construction, whenever it rains, sometimes it floods here in the REC, and, as an employee, I have to deal with that, and it starts to smell like mildew, and it gets annoying,” Wilkerson said.
Dezeray Browder, senior exercise science major, said the locker rooms flooded last year due to the construction.
“The locker rooms would get flooded, we wouldn’t be able to go in there,” Browder said. “We’d have to squeegee them out. It took forever. Now it’s not bad. It’s not really messing anything up anymore, and it’s starting to look really good.”
Katelyn Miller, senior exercise science major, said the ongoing construction is an inconvenience.
“With a lot of the ongoing construction, it gets in the way of our normal everyday pattern, especially when they keep closing off things, and it’s an inconvenience, but I’m happy to see the improvement on campus,” Miller said.
Wilkerson said parking and driving are bothersome due to the construction.
“Whenever you’re driving from the dorms, like across campus, and having to drive in one lane is bothersome because you have to immediately get over into the left lane because the other lane is closed,” Wilkerson said.
Miller said she has to park behind the Screaming Eagles Complex instead of the personal parking lot.
“It does affect the parking for working on campus, and now we have to park behind the SEC instead of our own personal parking lot,” Miller said. “When we open first thing in the morning or if we close, we have to walk down, you know, dark path by ourselves or with whoever we’re working with.”
The construction project is expected to be completed by 2024.
Miller said she hopes the construction can be finished by next spring.
“I really hope that they will get finished on their trajectory path that they had set,” Miller said. “As of right now, that keeps moving out. I’m pretty sure it’s next spring is when it gets done as of right now.”
