Building Futures: Clemson continues to enhance its facilities

August 18, 2015

By Jackie Todd, Office of Media Relations

Construction continues with projects on much of Clemson’s main campus with temporary closures and parking spot relocations. But officials say with short-term pain, there is a lot of gain.

“I realize that major construction projects create temporary inconveniences, but the long-term results will be worth it,” said President Jim Clements during Tuesday’s Convocation address.

The construction, part of the university’s capital building campaign, is the largest in Clemson’s history and addresses facility needs as well as the needs of a growing student population.

Officials report that over the next five years, the projects will result in about one and half million square feet of additional or renovated space.

One facility construction project is now complete. Contractor M.B. Kahn this past week completed its work on Freeman Hall, which adds 24,000 square feet of office and classroom space to the building.

University Housing and Dining reports that the Core Campus project will begin to take shape during the fall semester. Associate Director of Projects James Bonney said that the building’s steel skeleton should be complete mid semester and workers will begin to install the façade on the buildings.

The majority of the Douthit Hills construction work scheduled for the fall semester will occur on the central and east sides of the site. Bonney said there may be some traffic delays along S.C. Highway 93 near Newman and Cherry Roads as a new road is built, which will connect the north neighborhood to the Newman Road and Hwy. 93 intersection. Once completed, Daniel Drive will be closed for construction. Bonney said this will likely take place at the end of this year or beginning of 2016. Additionally, Daniel Drive and Martin will be closed for repairs Aug. 25 and 26.

Although most construction activities on these large-scale projects will be contained inside the project’s site fence, duct banks will be dug along the side of some campus roads to access underground utilities.

Some other smaller-scale projects include:

• Hardin Hall/Brackett Hall ADA sidewalk: A five-foot walk/ramp will be open on the Brackett side; however, the remainder of the area will be blocked off and under construction until mid-October.
• Cooper Plaza level brick paver project: There will be no access to the plaza level until end of August.
• Hendrix Center outdoor patio: The sidewalk from McMillan Road to the Hendrix Center, across the street from Redfern Health Center will be blocked through mid-October. However, the sidewalk that borders McMillan Road will be open.
• Electrical duct bank: This affects Calhoun Drive from Brackett Hall to Riggs Hall. Traffic will temporarily be restricted to one lane only and parking will be available on one side of the street.

Your resources

Visit the Building Futures website for information on Clemson’s capital campaign projects.

The Facilities department lists outages, road closures and other disruption events on the university calendar.

Parking and Transportation Services also offers information about parking closures, road closures and transit issues.