The T. Anne Cleary Walkway is undergoing renovation this summer after 15 years to address facilities issues, and officials say the project is on schedule for completion by Aug. 10.

Jennifer Hoffman, a University of Iowa Facilities Management project manager, said the main focus of the construction is to fix ongoing maintenance issues such as deteriorating brick lining the walkway and removing short posts that have made snow removal difficult. The project also includes building a handicap accessible ramp into the Chemistry Building and an outdoor patio at the Blank Honors Center.

"We are making the brick area on the walkway smaller so there is not as much brick to maintain, and we need to reuse the brick that is there," she said. "We are dealing with concrete that needs to be repaired and replacing where we need to."

John Adam, Calacci Construction project manager, said the total estimated construction cost is $524,000, with $100,000 in concrete repairs and replacement and $55,000 in granite work for sidewalk pavers and benches for the Blank Honors Center outdoor patio. Adam said the walkway has not been renovated at this scale in roughly 15 years.

Hoffman said workers are also removing the railroad tie planters on the north end.

"They were put in temporarily some 20 years ago," she said. "The main issue is they are starting to fail."

Workers are improving the storm-water systems near the walkway, as well as eliminating the stairs on the Chemistry Building’s east entrance to build an accessible entryway, Hoffman said.

Adam said the construction crew has faced difficulties with underground infrastructure below the walkway.

"Under the ground, there have been a lot of obstacles we have had to go through," he said. "There is an existing steam tunnel under the paving which is pretty old and in pretty bad shape. We had to shore it up for extra support so it wouldn’t cave in on us."

Hoffman said the main challenge for the project design is designing it cost-effectively.

"From the design standpoint, we are really trying to make sure that we address the ongoing maintenance issues while still containing the costs of the project," she said.

Construction began April 25 and is on schedule for completion Aug. 10, Adam said.

The Cleary Walkway, which used to be Capitol Street, was designated in memory of T. Anne Cleary, who was killed in the Nov. 1, 1991, Gang Lu shootings on the UI campus. Former graduate student Lu shot Cleary, the associate vice president for academic affairs and grievance officer at the time, in the head in her Jessup Hall office. She died in the UI Hospitals and Clinics the next day.

William Boyd, a UI Rawlings-Miller professor of law and former UI president, said that while he was not president at the time of the shooting he believes the memorial is a wonderful tribute to Cleary.

"It was a wonderful thing to name that walkway for her," he said. "It reminds us of a terrible incident, and reminds us we should always be respectful of each other and not resort to violence."

Boyd said he is a strong believer in making the UI a pedestrian campus, and he was pleased that the street was closed for the walkway.

"I think that’s one of the great values of it," he said. "It’s a wonderful memorial and an opportunity for the university to gather together while going to and from classes and distribute information. We don’t have to drive everywhere; we should enjoy the environment and atmosphere, rather than everybody rushing."