The yellow tape and construction workers which were recently so heavily located throughout the Bakersfield College campus are rarely to be seen as construction projects are near completion this Spring Semester of 2015.
Amber Chiang, BC public relations director, affirmed the notion that construction this semester is almost finished; most of what is left to work on is oil and gas line replacements that should not interfere heavily with student paths throughout campus.
“Complications shouldn’t arise this semester. I could never say never, but closures or extremely restricted pathways are unlikely to be seen regarding the water and gas lines,” Chiang reassured.
Chiang stated that the pipe that was struck mid-Fall 2014 semester that caused a campus closure was a water line that workers and staff at BC were unaware of. Now that construction workers are almost finished and have worked on almost every area of the campus, events such as those are unlikely to occur.
That aspect of construction should be finished by the end of this month.
The construction of the outdoor theater just east of the Student Services building is also nearing its end. All that is left to repair are the restrooms of that building, but completion is expected within the next couple of months. The grand opening ceremony will be held in April.
“This event has been long awaited, and it’s something we all have to look forward to,” said Chiang.
Students at BC breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of dwindling construction on campus at the start of the semester.
English Major Shelby Brown, 20, recalls the difficulty of getting from class to class last semester.
“I had two classes last semester that would have been ten minutes away from each other without all the construction and by walking distance. It was hell running through all the tape just to get to class. It never bothered me having a class across campus until last semester. This semester is so much better!” Brown said.
Education major Martin Torres, 18, said, “My classes had a short route between them, so it was whatever. But the day that class was cancelled all of a sudden because of the pipes really bugged me. I studied for an exam that I ended up having to take next week anyway. Yeah, it was frustrating.”
Engineering major Jesus Mendoza, 19, feels a sense of relief now that construction is so light.
“I hated the alternate routes to get to class and I had to swerve around construction that just came out of nowhere. I would actually leave class early sometimes to make it on time to the next one. This semester feels way better,” Mendoza said.
BC construction projects are expected to remain in good condition throughout the rest of the Spring 2015 semester.
Chiang stated that construction that would interfere heavily with student life is not to be expected next Fall 2015 semester. A project to replace the elevator in the SAM building will be taking place. However, there will be some “pockets” of activity here and there, but nothing major, according to Chiang.