One week after graduation, utility construction began on Bishop Boulevard and Binkley Avenue.
The two-inch-thick asphalt on Bishop Boulevard has been replaced with eight-inch concrete.
The curbs, sidewalks and handicap ramps have been reconstructed as well. The Smith and Moore parking lots have also been replaced with concrete. Bishop Boulevard will be finished Aug. 14. Utility construction on Binkley Avenue is scheduled to be complete in three weeks.
Project Manager Roy Kull said the old utilities on Bishop Boulevard and Binkley Avenue were subject to failure and needed to be replaced.
Before construction, rainwater flooded the corner of Binkley Avenue and Bishop Boulevard.
‘New storm inlets will direct the [rain] water to the South [of campus],’ Kull said.
For first-year students moving into Boaz Hall, move-in parking is available on Bishop Boulevard.
SMU police officers will be directing traffic for the duration of move-in. Directional signs have been placed around campus for easier access to residence halls and check-in points.
First-years are not the only students affected by the construction. Commuter students may face parking problems for the next few weeks while Binkley is inaccessible.
‘I”ll leave earlier and park by the Meadows Museum,’ said Junior Business and Music major Brad Raymond.
Once construction is finished, Bishop Boulevard and Binkley Avenue will not need any more maintenance for a while.
‘Concrete is a lifetime fix,’ said Kull.
Construction is affecting first-year students as they move-in. The week before classes begin 600 first-years and 70 leaders will attend Mustang Corral in Glenrose, TX. Mustang Corral begins today and continues through Sunday.
Corral buses will load on the south side of the Hughes-Trigg student center to avoid the construction.
‘Things are crazy enough as it is,’ said Junior English major Gaines Greer. ‘It”s unfortunate that the [incoming] first-years have to see the campus like this.’
Many students saw the boulevard before the construction began. But for many students, their first impression of campus forms during Academic Advising Registration Orientation.
Brandon Miller, Director of New Student Programs, said that SMU worked with AARO staff to ensure that construction would not be an issue for orientation programs.
‘They gave us early warning so it wasn”t a problem,’ said Miller.
Some believe that the construction could weigh on how incoming students feel about SMU.
‘It”s unfair,’ said Greer. ‘I would be disappointed if [the construction] affected their opinion of the campus.’
Like many students, Greer”s attraction to SMU strengthened after visiting the campus.But Kull said construction would not affect the overall beauty of SMU.
‘The construction should not have a negative impact on the incoming freshmen,’ Kull said. ‘[SMU] tried to divert them from the construction [during tours].’
