The west walkway going over Fourth and Fifth Street leading students to campus from Garage A on the Sinclair campus has been closed for months with no end in sight. It is located on the third level and helps students and staff cross the busy roads on campus.
According to the Sinclair website, the walkway has been closed since May 27, 2016. Well, we have good news. This past week there has been a crew working on the metal roofing and panels. They are about a fourth of the way across as of now.
According to Catherine Petersen, Chief of Public Information, “The anticipated completion date for the walkway is the first week of Aug 2023.” This will put the opening date just before the fall semester starts, which is Aug 21. According to the website, the Health and Sciences Center was meant to be completed in Aug 2017.
The closure has caused a lot of disruptions on campus. Staff and students have had to walk across the two busy roads for months now so that they can get to and from the main parking garage on campus. According to WHIO-TV, a student was hit and injured by a car on West Fifth Street last November. She was removed from campus and luckily sustained only minor injuries.
The ground path is now also roped off and closed to the public. Black net fencing blocks off the area to pedestrians so people are now forced to use the crosswalk further down the street. It is difficult to tell what is happening on the ground path, as it is fenced off the entire length to the road. There is scaffolding on the ground level but not any other equipment that can be seen.
This brick pathway underneath, called the Pathway to Learning, has been closed since April 4th according to the Sinclair website. The website states that it “will be closed temporarily due to the preparation work that is currently underway for construction of the new Health Sciences Center.” The work was only meant to last a few weeks.
Across Fifth Street, by Parking Garage A, there are various pieces of equipment helping to assemble the new roofing and the area is blocked off with yellow caution tape.
The fountain in front of building six is also in need of repair. There are a few rows of tiles that have been busted out and are strewn across the fountain floor. According to Petersen, “The contractor is replacing them. The work is expected to be completed June 30, 2023.” This will put the completion date for both projects before fall semester of this year.
The campus will be a lot easier to navigate once the walkway is complete and students can return to using the pathways to travel to and from classes without having to cross any busy streets. We will post any new updates we receive about when the walkway will be reopening and what we can expect to see in the future.
Jamie Herzog
Intern