Tufts students came back from winter break to find a team of maintenance workers tearing up Professors Row. The crew will be repairing a leaking gas main located directly under the street for approximately four weeks.
The leak was discovered after complaints about a gas odor near 20 Professors Row during the second week of January. During the localized repair, crews made a determination that the gas line needed to be repaired in its entirety. "The gas main was in such a stage of disrepair that it had to be addressed immediately," Tufts vice president of operations John Roberto said.
According to Roberto, local utility NSTAR "mobilized their forces immediately" and on Jan. 18 began a repair process that will last from three to four weeks and will progress at about 200 feet per day. The Department of Public Safety informed the Tufts community of this work in a Jan. 14 e-mail.
According to Roberto, there is no significant safety risk from this leak, but warned "anytime there is a gas odor you need to take it very seriously." NSTAR will assume the costs of construction, as they are the owners of the gas line which was originally installed almost 100 years ago.
Employees who normally park along Professors Row now
must find spaces in the Cohen parking lot, the Cousens parking lot, or the garage on Boston Avenue.
The Davis Square shuttle operated by Joseph's Transportation eliminated its pick-up location at the top of the Mayer Campus Center along Professors Row. Students and staff were notified of this change in the e-mail.
The snow storm which shut down the Medford campus on Jan. 24 will not have any significant effect on the construction, according to Roberto. "They will proceed along [with the work] the best that they can," he said. "During the extreme cold weather of [the week of Jan. 17], they were out working a full work day."
According to TCU Senate President Dave Baumwoll, Joseph's Transportation "works a lot to make sure [the shuttle route] stays the same." The Senate is in charge of negotiating the shuttle contract.
Most students do not seem to be bothered by the construction, though those who live nearby have to adjust their walking paths around the worksite.
Senior Dennis Chung, who lives in Metcalf Hall directly in front of the work site, said the work "doesn't make life easy."
