Statue construction continues, four-square court plans stagnant

Artist creating statues for area between Turlington, Alexander

Phillip Lin

Ty Johnson

Construction in the area between Turlington and Alexander impedes students traveling through the Free Expression Tunnel, as they have had to make their way around the on and off construction work.

The main project commissioned for the plaza was for statues to be put in, and students proposed for a four-square court to be an add-on, though it seems construction is at a standstill.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Facilities Kevin MacNaughton said the project was moving forward.

“The artist is hard at work creating these sculptures. The plaza has been reworked to accommodate the statues,” MacNaughton said.

As far as plans go for the four-square court, it seems to be the part of the project on an indefinite hiatus.

“I believe pricing for this idea was advanced but interest dropped off,” MacNaughton said.

Win Pratt, a member of the four-square club that proposed creating the court, said there are no ongoing plans concerning it.

“We talked about it around a year ago, but haven’t had contact since,” Pratt said. “They wanted to make sure it looked good before committing to it.”

Interest in creating a court sometime does exist, Pratt said.  He also said that the club is planning to contact facilities about it again. 

Students can expect more construction at the plaza in the near future once the statues are made and ready to be installed. Brian Lin, a junior in statistics, never found any of the construction to be all that obstructive to begin with. “I remember seeing construction going on in the area for a couple a months, but after a while it wasn’t there anymore,” Lin said. “Truth be told, it wasn’t nearly as much of a hassle as Hillsborough is today.”