As another summer rolls around in Hanover, campus is once again gearing up for construction. This year, Crosby Street and Thompson Arena are both closed for major construction projects.
Some students say the construction has caused time inefficiencies when traveling to tennis courts and the Co-Op grocery store, especially for student athletes who train on the fields nearby every morning.
This year’s constructions follow the College’s tendency to initiate large projects over summer, when the majority of the student population is not on campus. Last summer, campus services expanded the Collis Center porch, revamped the sailing boat house, and installed sustainable heating systems in residential halls.
Crosby Street, which runs past Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field and connects Lebanon Street and East Wheelock Street, is closed to motor vehicles and only accessible to pedestrians via detours, according to Dartmouth News. The project aims to install an underground distribution piping vault to make campus heating and cooling more efficient.
The Crosby Street construction started on June 18 and is projected to take anywhere from 12 to 18 months, according to Dartmouth News. The project was funded as part of the Dartmouth Climate Collaborative, which aims to spend “more than $500 million in climate-related capital improvements,” according to the Collaborative’s website.
Wai Yan ’28, who works as a front desk assistant at the Lewinstein Athletic Center, which is next to Crosby Street, said that he has not been impacted by the construction on Crosby Street. According to Yan, most undergraduates on campus live far from the gym, and most visitors either park their cars at the front of the Lewinstein Athletic Center or park behind and walk to the front.
“I don’t think the closure of Crosby Street has been too significant, at least to the traffic here,” Yan said.
College administrators did not respond to multiple requests for comments on the ongoing construction.
Sarah Parigela ’27 said that although the Crosby Street construction does not affect her “on a day-to-day basis,” it is “time-consuming” to navigate the detours whenever she needs to cross through East Wheelock Street.
“When I go to the Co-Op from North Park, the walking route might involve crossing the gym,” Parigela said. “I used to have a certain path, but the shortcuts are gone.”
Additionally, Parigela said that the construction sites can also be “an eyesore” to the people walking past. She added that she “has not seen that much change” in most of the ongoing projects, and that “the only change that has impressed [her]” is the Hopkins Center renovation.
Thompson Arena is currently also under renovation, with Campus Services aiming to “modernize locker rooms and team spaces, and benefit team building, student-athlete development, and future recruiting,” according to Dartmouth Athletics.
Yujiro Onuma ’27, a member of the varsity tennis team, said that he is affected by the Thompson Arena renovations. According to Onuma, the outdoor tennis courts on East Wheelock Street are closed off due to construction on Crosby Street, and indoor tennis courts are mostly inaccessible due to the Thompson Arena renovations.
“There are usually six indoor tennis courts, but four are used for storage for the ice hockey rink construction,” Onuma said. “It’s tough for [the tennis team] right now.”
William Lulka ’27, a member of the varsity soccer team, expressed similar concerns about the Thompson Arena renovations. Lulka said that his morning training schedule involves both strength and conditioning on Memorial Field and working out at Floren Varsity House. Because the path to these locations through the pickleball courts is shut down, he now has to “trek all the way around Alumni Gym.”
“The renovations affect me because my locker room is in the Thompson Arena,” Lulka said. “When we have to lift we have to go all the way back out, walk around Alumni Gym, and then go to Floren [Varsity House].”
Although Lulka described the situation as “unfortunate” and Onuma called the additional inconvenience “a pain” for the student athletes, both acknowledged that summer is the most reasonable time for the constructions to take place.
“It’s better they do it over summer than in the fall when everyone is back,” Lulka said.
