For a half century, something has lurked beneath the school, slowly growing and making its way into every building on the main campus, until it is impossible to avoid: the tunnels.
The tunnel system, originally completed in the fall of 1960, houses the heating and cooling pipes for the majority of campus. The system was installed over a period of two years to replace the World War II-era steam lines after a series of nine breaks occurred. In addition to the cost of removing the steam lines, the new system cost roughly $150,000.
The tunnels were not only designed to make maintenance safer and easier, but also to allow for future updates and renovations.
The system also allows for easier installation of heating and cooling pipes within buildings or to those.
Even the new Convergent Media Center is connected to the tunnels and will eventually be controlled like any other part of this system.
“Right now, all of the main buildings that are on campus, with the new building included, are heated from the main steam plant,” said Wesley Snow, assistant director of facilities management.
The tunnel system is connected through the facilities building, which houses the six boilers that heat the entirety of campus.
Five of the boilers were originally installed in 1979, and have all since been re-tuned and are working properly.
The sixth boiler, which was added in 1999, was recently out of commission due to a broken burner. The boiler was successfully replaced and is fully operational.
“We are actually doing major work in the chiller plant to try to provide sustainable cooling without mechanical failure,” Snow said.
Although there has been speculation as too the purpose of the tunnels and smokestack, there isn’t anything nefarious to be found within them.
Snow negated the rumors of students gaining access to the tunnels.
“In my duration here, no one has tried to climb the smokestack … and I have not seen, or had incident, with people in the tunnels,” Snow said.
Earlier this fall, sophomore Cameron Graves, entered the tunnels with one of his friends and a public safety officer to look for another one of his friends, who had gone missing.
“[The officer] pointed to a steel door, just a regular maintenance door… [and] shined his light down it,” Graves said. It was “nothing special.”
