Construction on the south entrance of the future underground parking garage located between Hillman Hall and Givens Hall will begin Dec. 16.

The area between Hillman Hall and Givens Hall will be prepared for closure Nov. 22 through Dec. 15. During this time, signage announcing the closure will be posted, landscaping will be cleared and a temporary sidewalk will be installed.

Graphic by Brandon Wilburn

Bike racks that used to lie within the construction zone will be relocated near the south entrance of Givens Hall. The total number of bike racks won’t be impacted.

During construction, students attempting to enter the Sam Fox School buildings will have to enter through the south entrances along Forsyth Boulevard.

To enter the Kemper Art Museum, students can either start along Forsyth Boulevard and take the exterior route around Steinberg Hall or the pedestrian path starting on Skinker Boulevard behind Walker Hall.

There is already construction along Forsyth Boulevard blocking off part of the sidewalk west of Hillman Hall.

According to Associate Vice Chancellor and University Architect James Kolker, sidewalk construction west of Hillman Hall is part of the Olin Library renovation, which should be completed before the garage construction begins.

Kolker said that this phase of construction will continue through 2018 Commencement Ceremony.

“We will provide monthly updates in the East End updates newsletter which all students, faculty and staff receive. Students can also follow progress on Twitter at @WashUcampusnext,” Kolker said.

Junior Chase Latour is taking a Sam Fox course in Givens Hall, and her main concern is how the construction will impact student commute times, especially with winter weather fast approaching.

“Most of my classes are around Mudd Field on [the Danforth Campus,] and even now I barely make it to class on time walking from Givens to Lab [Sciences],” Latour said. “This additional construction will force me to walk in the opposite direction to get to class. I’m just worried that students with even longer commutes will now be chronically late.”

Junior communication design major Marina Hartzell Gallegos is concerned about the University’s consideration of the needs of Sam Fox students.

“Sam Fox students already have to walk across the entire campus to get to class and only have one nearby food source after 3 p.m.,” Hartzell Gallegos said. “Increasing the commute time for Sam Fox students and the closing of Etta’s is just making it harder and harder to be an art student at Wash. U.”

According to the Campus Next website, access to the area will be further impacted after the 2018 Commencement ceremony.

Kolker assured that further construction updates will be available to students and faculty in spring 2018.

“We will continue to work in close collaboration with our partners at McCarthy to ensure timely updates that impact the Wash. U. community,” Kolker said. “There will be more to share in the spring, and all students, faculty and staff will receive information via the monthly East End updates newsletter and Twitter.”