CAMPUS LANDSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS CONTINUE


Construction continues on the campus beautification and landscaping project. Funded by Ike damage insurance funds, improvements include the removal of trees and plantings damaged by Hurricane Ike, new landscape plantings and repair/replacement of irrigation systems to support those plantings. Special considerations are being given to the central E. Cullen plaza area and the east perimeter along Spur 5 and University Drive. Damaged trees were removed in July and August. Irrigation repair and new plantings are well underway.

There has been a tremendous amount of progress over the past several months as crews have finished working in Cullen Plaza and Entrance 14. Planting along Spur 5 and Wheeler are completed, and the final repairs to the irrigation system are being performed.

As the final month of the project approaches, crews will be concentrating on the University Drive esplanades. Between Calhoun and Spur 5, the majority of the work will be on retrofitting the existing irrigation system and straightening leaning trees. The esplanade in front of the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center will be re-graded, have sod installed, and the landscape beds will be re-planted with Lily-of-the-Nile.

Starting at Calhoun Road and extending to the E. Cullen Building, new irrigation will be installed to replace the largely non-functioning system. This is part of a larger campus-wide project that will allow the university to better control its water use through a centralized system. The crews will also put the final touches on the landscaping around the new granite signage.

This project is being installed by Landscape Art, a Houston-area commercial landscape contractor. The large trees from Scott Street were relocated by Environmental Design. Drawings were prepared by Clark Condon Associates, Landscape Architects. The project is being managed by UH staffers Roger Warner and Neal Smith. Matt Theron, UH skilled trades, has been an invaluable help with his campus irrigation expertise.

This project is scheduled to be completed by mid-January 2011. We are moving right along toward becoming a Tier One University!