OSU students wait to cross the street at the corner of Lane and Neil avenues beside closed portions of Lane Avenue Oct. 31. Credit: Sam Harrington / Lantern photographer

OSU students wait to cross the street at the corner of Lane and Neil avenues beside closed portions of Lane Avenue Oct. 31.
Credit: Sam Harrington / Lantern photographer

With construction on North Campus residence halls underway, some students have complained about the diminished number of open paths and voiced concerns about the noise level of the renovations.

The North Residential District Transformation is a $370 million renovation to the North Campus District that plans to add 3,200 additional student beds through the construction of 11 new buildings, which are expected to be ready for move-in fall 2016, in time for the start of OSU’s planned second-year live on requirement.

Curl Drive, which connects Neil and Woodruff avenues, was closed indefinitely Oct. 11, marking the beginning stages of the North Residential District Transformation.

Following the closure of Curl Drive, eastbound Lane Avenue was reduced to one lane between Neil Avenue and Peasley Street in October and is expected to remain limited to one lane until Summer 2016, OSU Administration and Planning spokeswoman Alison Hinkle said in October.

In addition, southbound High Street between Lane and Woodruff avenues was also reduced to one lane in October and is expected to remain that way until Summer 2015, Hinkle said.

Colton Lapworth, a first-year in aerospace engineering who lives in Drackett Tower, said so far, there are a few aspects of the construction process that he isn’t happy about.

“One of (the) big inconveniences is the fence right out(side) of Drackett,” he said. “For (whatever reason), they have fences right out(side) of the door.”

Before the renovations, he said he used the door at the north entrance of the building.

Other students voiced similar concerns.

“The gates (are) annoying, it is hard to get (to). You cannot walk to the sidewalk to go to High Street,” said Leanne Spillman, a third-year in marketing.

Student Life spokesman Dave Isaacs said in an email the inconveniences are to be expected.

“Any time you have a project of this magnitude there will be disruptions, especially to the daily routine of people living and working in the area,” Isaacs said.

Isaacs said questions are received more frequently than complaints about the North Campus project, with one common question being about the level of construction noise. He said students have been told there will be no construction work before 9 a.m. or during finals week.

Some students said they haven’t had much of an issue with the noise level.

“The really (bad) part is (when) it (was) in the early morning when we (were) sleeping. Other than that, it isn’t too bad,” said Nate Herrmann, a first-year in computer science and engineering who lives in Drackett Tower.

Lapworth also said the noise hasn’t been too bad.

“There really (aren’t many) noises, but the fences (are) bothering me a lot,” he said.

Miranda Scheitlin, a first-year in pre-pharmacy who also lives in Drackett, said sometimes at about 9 or 10 a.m. she’ll hear the construction.

“(The noise) is like somebody knocking on the door,” Scheitlin said.

Mitchel Keller, a first-year in neuroscience, said the project is working on too many spaces at the same time.

“(The problem) is about how many areas they are taking on. I feel like some of (it) is too much,” Keller said.

He also said he thinks closing the Lane Avenue sidewalks was unnecessary because he hasn’t seen any work being done on them.

Hinkle said in October the lane closures are meant to allow construction traffic in and out of the area in order to maintain safety for pedestrians and vehicles.