Entering the Memorial Union has been difficult as students have been redirected from the front entrance due to construction.

Since the beginning of August, the Facilities Planning and Management department for Iowa State has been reconstructing the stairs on the north side of the Memorial Union and the walkways which lead from Union Drive to the Memorial Union.

“The last time this area was updated was in the 1980s and we decided to go forth with this project because we were able to obtain funding to improve the area,” said Scott Southward, communication specialist for the Memorial Union.

The goal of the project at the Gold Star Hall entrance is to widen the sidewalks to help ease the heavy student traffic that exits in and out of the north entrance, which is the most-used entrance at the Memorial Union, and to also make the entrance more handicap accessible.

Prior to the project, the handicap ramps used to come up to the sides of the entrance along the Memorial Union, which made it less accessible. People who needed handicap accessible entrances were having trouble pushing the button to open the doors to get inside through that entrance.

According to Southward, the handicap ramps are being changed so that “the ramps will be on a gradual incline in the center of the steps instead of on the sides, which will make it more configuring and easier to access for handicapped people and also allow for better flow of traffic.”

Funding for this project is coming from three groups: the Memorial Union, the Government of the Student Body and Facilities Planning and Management. 

The Memorial Union is contributing $43,500 toward the project while GSB has contributed $40,000.

The $40,000 was split between improvements to the Fountain of the Four Seasons last semester and for the north entrance project.

Facilities Planning and Management is to cover the remaining expenses, which will not be determined until the project is finished. At the GSB meeting in November of last year, it was estimated that the project would cost about $200,000.

Besides the construction project, Facilities Planning and Management will be replacing the evergreen shrubs  which lined the windows outside the front of the building with new ones. The department will also be adding more green space to the area via sodding.

Southward currently sees the project as an inconvenience for people who have to use different entrances instead of the north entrance but feels the project will be advantageous in the future.

However, Southward is also hoping that once the project is complete, it will allow the Memorial Union to be more user-friendly to students and staff and will be beneficial in the long run for the Memorial Union. He hopes to see positive reactions relating to the reconstruction from students and staff.

As of right now, the project has not had any problems and is on schedule to be completed by Aug. 31. There also has not been and concerns garnered from students, faculty or staff pertaining to the project.