Many students experience change with the start of a new school year, but the summer months brought change on campus with construction work.

Demolition to Floyd Hall began July 17 with demolition of the center section of the building.

Michael Gautney, assistant vice president for facilities administration and planning, said students should be aware of construction areas for safety concerns.

“During the demolition phase of the project, the area around Floyd Hall will be very congested with equipment and large trucks,” Gautney said. “Please be aware of your surroundings while walking around this area to ensure that you are not entering an area under construction.”

Contractors added additional fencing and directional signs to guide pedestrians away from construction zones.

“Every effort is being made to ensure that we maintain a safe campus environment and work site,” Gautney said.

Circular Road is currently blocked off because of its proximity to the construction site.

The walkway from the parking deck toward Stevens Hall is also blocked off for the remainder of construction.

Gautney said he estimated five weeks for demolition and an additional five weeks for debris cleanup. The project is currently on schedule to finish at the end of August.

Senior nursing student Katherine Dennis said she is sad to see Floyd demolished after spending so much time in the beginning of her time at UNA.

Dennis credits part of her decision to pursue a career in nursing to the fond memories she had while in Floyd.

“I had so many classes in that building, and it always felt like a true science building,” Dennis said. “I’m happy we’re getting a new nursing building because we need the space, but seeing Floyd torn down into rubble breaks my heart. I hope somehow they will continue on the name in some form or fashion as an honor to Floyd.”

Over the summer, construction began to replace the roof on Collier Library.

Board of trustees member Libby Jordan said the library has been in need of a new roof for a while.

“It has been patched many times, and it is still leaking,” she said. “The biggest issue is that there is a leak over the archive section. If those are destroyed, they are lost forever. There is no way to replace them.”

The board of trustees approved a budget of $600,000, but the cost of construction ended up at $324,455.

Gautney said he hoped the project would take eight weeks total, but rain over the past two months delayed the project by 20 days. He estimates the project’s completion by the last week of August.

The Lion’s Den Game Room received a makeover during the break. Construction workers added new paint, flooring and new furniture.

Another project transformed Mane Market over the summer by changing the food line, adding additional seating, new flooring and new subway tile on the serving area walls.

Workers completed the parking lot on Circular Road at the end of May. This parking lot added an additional 200 spaces on campus.

This lot opened for a short period of time for spring 17 graduation before closing for landscaping.

To read more about construction on campus, visit florala.net.