Many students this semester have many challenges on their plates, but one of the biggest obstacles students face this semester is access to campus due to road closures.
The construction, located on the east side of Stewart Street, is part of the locker room expansion that has been in the works since spring 2023. The expansion has come at a cost though, as many students are struggling to get to their classes on time since the actual construction began this summer.
Katelyn Legault, a fourth-year psychology major, talks about how she struggles trying to get to her 9 a.m. class during the week.
“I have to leave my house 30 minutes before, even though I live five minutes away from campus,” she said.
Legault further explained how the blockage makes driving to school and parking for class far more frustrating than it already is.
“It is definitely bothersome that NMSU has had this road torn up for so long. It is the route I would take to class every day, and it has made getting to campus extremely difficult for me,” she continues. “The road being torn up in addition to the pre-existing parking limitations makes getting to campus and getting to class on time very difficult. Which is very frustrating since we pay $80 to park on campus as commuter students.”
Many students are having to use the detour that is on Wells Street, which has brought about backed-up traffic on the road going both ways. This causes students to leave their residences far earlier than normal, or risk being late to class.
Lauren Smith, a fourth-year business major, explains how sometimes leaving early for class does not even help. “I usually leave 25 to 30 minutes before my class time to barely make it five minutes before my lecture,” she said.
Smith holds the same sentiment as Legault; that the traffic is too congested to only have one road fully open during the semester.
Smith explains that her biggest issue with the closure is that it occurs during the semester, instead of during a break.
“I think it bothers me more than they did not wait until the semester ended or during the breaks. Dealing with construction when the campus is at its busiest is very inconvenient,” she said.
Eva Cullen, a fourth-year theatre major, explained her frustrations with the road construction. “It does bother me because I feel like this work could’ve happened during the summer and the road was fine, why not wait until break?” she said.
Cullen also shared how even more difficult it has been getting to class due to another construction.
“There is construction that’s been happening outside of the Center for the Arts theatre building since the start of last school year and it’s been really hard to get to class because of both constructions this semester, and has just been annoying,” she said.
Raghu Raghavan, the director of facilities, shared some exciting news for students though. In an email to The Round Up, he explained that “the road closure is expected to be lifted at the end of October.”
NMSU Athletics did not provide further information to The Round Up regarding this matter.
