Students cope with construction

Although SUB construction is all but finished, UNM students are still working around an ongoing project near the building's south entrance.

The project, part of the utility tunnel for the Cornell Parking Structure, is an unfortunate result of construction workers inadvertently hitting unmarked underground utility lines, said Roger Lujan, director of Facility Planning.

"It's not the most ideal situation I know, but we are doing our best to fix the problem as soon as possible," Lujan said.

He said although the situation is "regrettable," it is likely the project's completion date will be after the projected opening date of the Cornell structure at the end of October.

"How long is this going to take?" Lujan said. "I really don't know."

Walt Miller, associate vice president of Student Development at UNM, said he hasn't received many complaints about the construction project and students are focusing on using and enjoying the new SUB.

He said he thinks the majority of students realize the utility line construction project is necessary for the Cornell garage project to be completed.

The utility line work has been ongoing since before the SUB's opening in July.

Miller said, though, that he estimates the utility line project will not be completed until sometime in December.

"It is unfortunate that the construction project is in such close proximity to the SUB," Miller said. "But rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to have everything fixed and will be out of there as soon as possible so the community can fully enjoy all the improvements we've made on their behalf."

He could not provide an approximate cost of the utility line replacement construction.

"The University community is used to having construction projects on campus," said Rosalyn Nguyen, Student Union Building chairwoman. "Even if the project isn't complete until December, UNM students know from experience how to work around it, and I think they appreciate that all this work is in their best interest."