Members of the University of New Mexico’s Board of Regents have given their approval to a project that will see the upgrading of a series of exterior stairwells that are a part of the school’s Student Residence Center.
A structural assessment undertaken last year by the Albuquerque-based Heatly Engineering Incorporated revealed that the metal stairs in the complex, which was built in 1991, had deteriorated to the point of needing either immediate repair or replacement.
The Center, located on the center east side of the campus, is made up of a dozen different-shaped three-story buildings encompassing some 140,000 square feet and housing six-room and two-bath apartments.
The $550,000 project approved by the Regents will see the stair work taking place in Buildings D, F, and G.
According to UNM documents, the stair work at those three buildings will be done to meet “code and safety requirements.”
That work, to be done in three parts, will center on upgrading or replacing 24 back stairs, and a dozen front stairs.
The stairs project was one of several campus capital improvement items approved unanimously by the Regents.
By Garry Boulard