OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — UW-Oshkosh will demolish three residence halls and replace aging underground utility infrastructure this summer as part of a roughly $12 million in state-funded campus improvements driven by declining enrollment and deteriorating facilities.
Webster, Donner and Radford residence halls are set for demolition beginning next month. The demolished dorms will remain as green space, with future redevelopment planned.
An underground utility infrastructure project is already underway. About 1,000 linear feet of underground utilities will be replaced, moving pipes that currently run above ground across campus sidewalks. Past flooding necessitated the above-ground piping.
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Charlie Colbert, a UW-Oshkosh junior, said the current construction has already created challenges for students getting around campus.
"It kind of sucks, especially biking, you have to go all the way around and then they just added more pipes," Colbert said.
Recent UW-Oshkosh graduate Hannah Lehner raised concerns about accessibility during the construction period.
"There are ramps over the steam pipes in some areas. I feel bad for people in wheelchairs and such because I don't know how accessible things are," Lehner said.
Chadwick Shaw, director of facilities planning, said the utility work is a critical step toward broader campus improvements, including a planned renovation of Polk Library.
"These pipes going back underground is an important step in creating resilient infrastructure on campus," Shaw said, "This is gonna set a foundation for our next project, which is the Polk library that will connect this quad to the library with an open concept front porch idea."
Inside the 63-year-old Polk Library, the university says pipes are literally disintegrating. A 2024 report found more than half of the library is in poor condition, forcing entire sections to be cordoned off.
Shaw outlined the cost of the projects, all of which are funded through the state of Wisconsin.
"The pipe project is about $5 million. The multi-building demo project is about $7 million," said Shaw, "This is all funds that we were lucky enough to get through the state of Wisconsin."
The pipe project is expected to be completed by this fall. Dorm demolition is expected to be completed by next spring.
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