Whether it’s planning a different route to class or scheming how to Photoshop a blue tarp out of your senior photos, the construction in the Quad has become impossible to ignore.
At the center of the disruption is a major repair and renewal project targeting the nearly 100-year-old steam tunnels beneath campus, according to Drew Alexander, vice president of campus operations. The project is housed under the Capital Renewal Program, the university’s $90 million dollar project focused on revitalizing campus structures.
Originally installed in 1941 to heat the Administration Building, the steam tunnel system now serves as a critical piece of campus infrastructure, providing heating, cooling and hot water throughout Boise State. While the steam system has expanded over time, the current project is the first “full fledged repair” the system has seen.
Alexander acknowledged the strain.
“This project asks for a lot of campus,” he said.
So why not wait until summer?
Construction begins each spring as temperatures rise, allowing buildings to temporarily go without full heating and cooling services. Crews typically shut the system down in late April and work through mid-October, aiming to complete as much work as possible before the cold weather returns and minimize further campus disruptions.
“Ideally, like with a lot of our projects, we would have it during the summer window,” Alexander said. “But due to the complexity and scope of trying to finish in three phases, we have so much work to do throughout the academic year.”
Another phase is scheduled to begin in 2027, though Alexander expects the current phase to be the most disruptive.
Jude Hicks, a junior, said the detours add three to four minutes to his daily commute.
Hicks expressed frustration that study spots, like the Albertsons Library, are difficult to get to and often noisy. “You can try to study, but it’s pretty difficult. It is crazy loud.”
Aside from being inconvenient, the construction can obstruct views for bikers, pedestrians and those on scooters.
Rebekah Parsons, graduate student, experienced this firsthand. Last Monday, she was longboarding home from the climbing gym when someone on an electric scooter crashed into her, causing her to break her nose.
“I’m going around the tent that is in front of Riverfront, where they have the whole area blocked off,” Parsons recalls. “As I round the corner, this guy on a motorized scooter is coming from the opposite direction, and he’s also coming around the blind corner and going way faster than I am. We completely collided.”
Parsons acknowledged that other factors were at play in the collision, such as the speeds both parties were traveling at.
“It sucks that we’re all a little bit inconvenienced by it [the construction], but I prefer this to not having sidewalks that work. I prefer this to potholes — so I’m really not that beat up about it.”
Alexander emphasizes while the benefits of this construction may not be felt within the typical four to five year window students are on campus, the impact of this project will leave the university in a better place for years to come.
“These are generational impacts for campus that are going to add up to 30, 40, 50 additional years of ensuring that the learning that happens here continues to happen in an efficient, predictable and comfortable way,” Alexander said. “There’s a long term lens here that we’re hoping students can lean into and appreciate.”
