December 07, 2011
Media Advisory -- Walking Path Ribbon Cutting
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the official re-opening of the walking path around campus lake this week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
University officials, including Chancellor Rita Cheng, along with Beck Simonds of E.T. Simonds Construction Co. and Bill Orrill, a member of the executive board for Laborers Local 773, will cut a ribbon and reopen the path at noon on Friday, Dec. 9, at the beach house area on campus lake. The chancellor then will lead a walk around the lake.
The major renovation project was possible because of the material, equipment and labor donations from the local construction firm, the union and an affiliated training program.
The company, along with the labor union and the Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust (LECET) donated the material, equipment and labor for the project, which began in October.
The project also served as a training exercise for laborers apprentices, who along with journeypersons completed the work through an asphalt class offered by the Illinois Laborers and Contractors Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund.
The path, a popular recreation and exercise area that encircles the lake, was in need of general repair. The project came together as a result of talks that began a year ago among Cheng and the other parties.
The asphalt path stretches for about two miles, but the resurfacing gave the University opportunity to reroute several small stretches of the path that used to lie in areas prone to flooding, providing a dry path regardless of the weather. Overall, the path’s footprint and route stayed largely the same.