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September 11, 2014

Chilled water on the way

CL lawn

What’s going on behind those construction fence screens on the Cathedral of Learning lawn?

The stacked pipes are part of a $1.81 million project to extend chilled water lines to Heinz Chapel and Bellefield Hall.

Some digging will be necessary, but it won’t extend across the entire lawn, said Dan Marcinko of Facilities Management. The plan is to jack the pipe — push it through beneath the ground using hydraulic jacks — to reduce the amount of excavation needed to bury the pipe.

The project will make it possible to improve climate control in the chapel, which currently has no air conditioning. The University’s 2015 capital budget includes $1.69 million for environmental controls at the chapel. (See July 24 University Times.) The chapel is scheduled to close Jan. 5 to accommodate the work, with reopening set for June 1.

Marcinko said the lines are being extended to a manhole near Bellefield Avenue as a precursor to a future project that would bring chilled water across the street to serve Bellefield Hall. The timetable for that project has not been determined.

—Kimberly K. Barlow

Filed under: Feature,Volume 47 Issue 2