Category: Construction

Beginning March 2018, Walter T. Cox Blvd (Hwy. 93) will close intermittently from Cherry Road to Centennial Blvd. as workers upgrade the electrical infrastructure and chilled water lines for increased reliability to Clemson’s campus and to serve current and future campus utility demands. The first phase of this work will include the installation of underground electrical duct banks and utility water lines. Roadway disruptions will be phased to avoid major campus events such as move-in weekends, graduation and fall football season.

A community information meeting will be held in the BellSouth Auditorium at the Madren Conference Center from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Attendees will learn more about the project and impacts to traffic flow along the construction route for the downtown community and campus.

Utility Services will begin preparing for the chilled water installation at the Fort Hill/Calhoun Drive intersection on Thursday, Feb. 1. Jackhammers will be used to demolish the asphalt to enable workers to install the lines this coming weekend.  The work will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday evening and will not require the intersection to be closed. Crews will demolish one lane at a time to allow access to vehicle traffic.

The intersection will be closed on Saturday, Feb. 3 to allow crews to install chilled water lines.  Construction should be complete by the end-of-day Sunday, Feb. 4. The intersection will be re-opened by 7 a.m. Monday, Feb. 5.

Starting Friday, January 26th, Calhoun Drive will be closed from the intersection of Walter T. Cox Blvd. to Fort Hill Street. The closure is necessary to complete the asphalt installation along this section. To minimize the impact on traffic, the road will remain open until end of day Friday. This portion will partially reopen on Monday, January 29th, from Highway 93 to the crosswalk at Brackett Hall indicated in the visual below.  The section south of the Brackett crosswalk will remain closed to allow Utility Services to install chilled water lines.

Parking Will Be Affected

All cars parked along Calhoun Drive within this area should be moved prior to 5:00 pm on Friday, January 26th.  Access to the Sikes Hall parking lot will be blocked during this time frame.  Weather permitting, paving will begin on Saturday, January 27th and should be complete by Sunday afternoon on January 28th.  This section of roadway is expected to reopen early Monday morning January 29th.

Walter T. Cox to Tillman to reopen on January 15th, Tillman Hall to Fort Hill Street to reopen by February 9th.  Details below.

Work continues along Calhoun Drive,  with construction of chilled water lines to begin along the parking adjacent to the west and south side of Sikes Hall on Saturday, January 13^th.  This work is scheduled to be complete Monday January 15^th, but is subject to weather delays.  The area indicated in yellow on the installation timeline indicates the area that will be impacted during this time frame.

The chilled water pipes have been installed from the Calhoun Drive/Parkway Drive intersection to Tillman Hall (see areas indicated in green and red).  On Monday, January 15^th, the section of Calhoun Drive from Walter T. Cox Blvd. to Tillman Hall will be reopened along with the adjacent sidewalk.  Please note that the utility trench is currently topped with gravel and is not paved yet.  Paint striping for the parallel parking spaces may not be visible until the area is repaved.  Paving for these sections is currently scheduled for Saturday January 27^th and Sunday January 28^th.

On Monday, January 15^th, access along Calhoun Drive will be closed from Tillman Hall to Fort Hill Street (see area in blue), with a projected reopening by February 9^th.  Note that the sidewalk running parallel and adjacent to the west side of this section of Calhoun Drive will be closed as well.  Pedestrians will be able to cross through this zone at the cross walk at the north end of Brackett Hall.  The sidewalk along the east side of Calhoun Drive will remain open.

Please see the University Facilities Disruption Calendar for upcoming disruption events.

In the coming year, planned construction along Highway 93 is anticipated to cause significant disruptions to both automotive and pedestrian traffic for this main campus thoroughfare.  An overview of the related project can be found on the University Facilities website, and we intend to use social media including this blog to help keep the public informed with updates and helpful information.  If you have any questions regarding the project, please contact project manager Jarred Fleming.

Calhoun Drive Schedule of Work, Section by Section

Calhoun Drive will experience its own series of disruptions to allow chilled water piping to be connected to the thermal distribution system planned for Highway 93.  The timeline for this work is January-March 2018.

Significant Dates to Remember

Below is an at-a-glance reference for the various phases of construction along Calhoun Drive. A detailed timeline is available that shows precisely what areas will be blocked off during each phase.

• January 6th-7th – Closure of intersection of Calhoun Dr. and Highway 93.
• January 6th-16th – Calhoun Dr. closed from Tillman Hall to the intersection with Highway 93.
• January 13th-15th – Parking surrounding West side of Sikes Hall to be closed.
• January 17th-February 9th – Calhoun Dr. closed from Tillman Hall to the intersection with Fort Hill.
• February 3rd-4th – Closure of intersection of Calhoun Dr. and Fort Hill.
• February 12th-March 2nd – Calhoun Dr. closed from Fort Hill Intersection to Olin Hall.

Regarding Highway 93, the timeline for construction will be roughly February 2018 to January 2019. More details will be made available in a future post once a contractor has been brought aboard.

Aerial of Anticipated Traffic Disruptions

Drone footage was obtained that shows a bird’s eye view of the portion of Highway 93 in which construction is expected to significantly impact traffic.  The drone flies approximately from 93’s intersection with Centennial Boulevard to the intersection with Cherry Road.

As with Calhoun Drive, work will take place in phases.  Lane closures are expected and Perimeter Road will be the recommended alternative path for campus travel throughout this project.

East campus has gained an exciting addition in the newly refurbished Barnes Center, an old sheep barn turned late night student center. The building has been revamped to include a large common space equipped with TVs, speakers, a portable stage, furniture, and a food service area. Before it was reopened, however, the affectionately-named “sheep barn” offered a strong historic point of contact for Clemson’s campus.

Origin

Constructed around 1904, the barn was originally built to house dairy cows while providing a learning space for livestock education and research. It wasn’t until many years later that it would be used to store sheep, earning it the nickname that would last for decades. After the sheep moved out, the building doubled as an electrical shop and storage space before being completely vacated until early 2015, when planning for the Barnes Center began. It’s significance to the campus landed it a place in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The old Sheep Barn’s new namesake comes from Clemson alumnus and Clemson Medallion recipient, Frank S. Barnes Jr., whose family lovingly gifted the Center to students as a new premiere social space for the university.

The Renovation Plan

Once the refurbishment project was approved, University Facilities hired architects to begin the design process, which included hearing feedback through a series of presentations to faculty and students. As with previous renovation projects, reusing as much of the original building material as possible was a primary goal in order to honor the building’s history and retain its rustic style, while reducing costs.  Many posts and interior columns needed to be replaced due to age and environmental exposure, but several of the original supports were rebound and saved. Other modifications included the addition of lighting optimal for evening operations, insulation replacement, and the refurbishment of old windows and vents throughout the building.

The renovation included consideration for the use of the building’s exterior space as well. Project managers and administrators in Campus Activities and Events expect many events to be held outdoors, and thus designed a concrete patio space where student groups can arrange events and performances. The patio sits adjacent to the Barnes Center and includes seating, lighting, an outdoor speaker system, and a lawn for additional space that students can utilize. A building for extra storage and restrooms was also placed behind the center to help accommodate these outdoor events.

An Eye for the Details

Barnes Center Project Manager, Kevin McDonough, expressed his excitement for the continuation of the original structure of the barn. This was done through small details, such as lighting to emphasize the crossbeams and supports in the ceiling, and the return of the barn to its original color. As part of the historical restoration, samples of the barn’s more recent red paint were taken. Microscopic analysis tests revealed that the original color was indeed white, so the barn was given a fresh coat of its first shade over the outer wooden siding. Furthermore, McDonough and his team kept everything above the first-floor level original to remind visitors of the historic context of the building.

According to McDonough, renovations of the building are complete for now, but there may be future plans to construct a permanent stage near the Center’s outdoor patio. The Barnes Center is already open for student use, with events held most Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights.