Current construction efforts are improving safety for Ohio University pedestrians on campus, but other areas traveled by OU students will remain in need of repair.
While some of the brick walkways that line College Green are being repaired, the brickwork that covers Jefferson Hill remains warped and uneven.
The current phase of the College Green walkway construction is scheduled to be completed by the middle of this month, said OU Director of Engineering Services Ted Fares, who is supervising the project. Student safety and wheelchair accessibility are the biggest factors in deciding which walkways will be repaired, and that usually means spotting the most uneven pathways.
The last time any major sidewalk work was done on college green was 1978
said John Kotowski, OU assistant vice president of facilities management.
Fares said the construction is only part of what will be an ongoing project to maintain the safety and accessibility of the College Green pathways.
However, students who choose to travel by way of Jefferson Hill will not see construction to repair the brickwork there anytime soon.
The hill was once open to vehicular traffic but was closed after a major waterline rupture threatened the stability of the road, Kotowski said. Because the hill is a public road, it is controlled by the city of Athens. The city has no plans to repair the hill at this time.
There are a lot of priorities other than that roadway Athens Service-Safety Director Wayne Key said.
Besides the hill being unfit for motor traffic, some students find it difficult to walk on the hill.
I have felt the wrath of those bricks said OU sophomore Allison Wright, who fell on Jefferson Hill earlier this quarter when she stepped on a displaced brick that had been covered by leaves.
The city has the option of vacating the street, which would shift control of the hill to OU, but the university has made no formal request for the city to vacate, said Key.
If the city opted to vacate, the university might consider a project to repair the brickwork, Kotowski said.
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Students walk up Jefferson Hill Tuesday afternoon. Jeff Hill's condition has gotten worse over the years and its repair has been in question.
