Construction has been a constant on this campus for quite some time, and while some projects are getting done, several projects still remain delayed or not even started. Improvements are needed, but often times, it seems they take longer than they should.

The city removed parking spaces along Fourth Street, widening the road during the summer. Unlike most construction projects on campus, most students did not even get to see any of the signs of construction because the entire project was done in the middle of the summer and was finished by the time students moved back in.

The city did the project quickly and effectively.

Why can’t the university get projects done as efficiently?

To be fair, the university did a good job completing a new parking lot by Lantz Gymnasium in a timely manner, and Booth Library is actually starting to resemble a library, although it’s start date was pushed back and originally the library should have been finished last year.

Also, last year, students came back to school in August to find fences in the way of their route to class and a library with an open south end.

The steam tunnel construction in front of Klehm, Lumpkin and Coleman halls is supposed to be finished within the next few months. We’ll see. At least in the case of Booth Library, students finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The same is not true for several other construction projects.

The university now says the food court in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union will be finished in January. Students will be able to sigh a huge sigh of relief when that project is completed, seeing that the completion date has been changed again and again.

The university saw a slight setback, hopefully its last, once again with the food court when asbestos had to be removed.

Also, the ethernet connection project in the dorms and university owned apartment complexes was pushed back last year. Now it is up and running, but getting there was no easy task.

It’s understandable that unforeseen circumstances will occur, but when is enough enough? The city got an important project done well and quickly. It will be nice when the construction on campus is over and done with too.