Written by Abby Kellett
The construction just outside Stephens, Searcy and Pryor dorms is causing a lot of headaches and has been since last February. The reconstruction of Remington Road has been an ongoing project on the water lines that lie underneath its concrete.
“They’re just trying to find the leaks,” Mel Sansom, chairman of the Board of Searcy’s Water and Utilities, said. “There’s certain criteria that has to be met to actually run the water through the new line. So far they find the leak, they fix it, and then they find another leak and fix it, and it’s just been nuts.”
While the constant reconstruction costs more and more every day, Harding is not picking up the tab.
“This is not costing Harding anything,” Director of Physical Resources Danny DeRamus said. “In fact, now it’s costing the contractor.”
The initial project was supposed to be completed by Spring Sing weekend last year, but now the length of the construction is indefinite.
“The manager of the water and sewer system was just in my office, and I mean we call them almost every day asking what’s the latest,” Sansom said. “He said that they continue to find leaks, and he’s trying to fix them, but then once they find the leak they have to test it to see if it’s working properly or not, and so they have to run water through the line and test it.”
Testing the line involves shooting large amounts of high-pressure water through the pipes, which has been causing some uncomfortable problems for the students living in Searcy Hall.
“Last night when I went to take a shower, all the water was freezing cold, no matter how long I waited,” Rebecca Miller, resident of Searcy Hall, said. “I was really upset because I couldn’t hardly take a shower in water colder than death.”
Not only was the hot water missing in action Tuesday night, it was also unavailable the following morning when all the students were trying to get ready for classes.
The water pressure tests on the new lines trip a breaker causing the hot water to stop in Searcy Hall. The dorm may have gotten new floors this summer, but it is still lacking the breaker needed to keep the hot water flowing.
In order for the construction to come to an end, one more step must be taken to finalize the project.
“Once it’s finally past the pressure test, then they can put the water line up to the new line,” Sansom said. “All they’ve done is expand the new line. They’re using the old line because they haven’t been able to use the new one yet since it hasn’t passed the test, and there’s really no telling how long it could take.”
The city is doing everything it can to find the leak as soon as possible and wrap up the construction immediately.
“They probably didn’t follow the process that would be normal, and that’s why this is giving them trouble,” DeRamus said. “We’ve heard a million stories, and different ones about why it’s taking so long and why they can’t find the leak. They’ve hired a professional leak detector company and everything to try and get the job done.”
The city is trying to get water down to the industrial park through the new pipes, and if the project is successful Harding will not have to run its water pressure as high, which will cut costs.
Upon completion, Physical Resources said the road will be completely finished and paved over for all the students and faculty to enjoy.
