Although the long white tunnel running under State Highway 50 might seem like it could be out of a futuristic movie, the underground walkway is actually about 40 years old. And it will soon be out of commission.
Citing a structural engineer’s report that found water penetration to be the cause of several cracks in the tunnel, A&M-Commerce officials have decided it would be more expensive to repair the underground walkway than it would be worth.
Jim Patton, facilities project manager, said a campus audit by A&M system officials last fall raised concerns about the structural integrity of the concrete tunnel.
“Well, they really just wanted us to check it to see if it was sound and if there was water leakage from cracks in the walls,” Patton said.
Jaster-Quintanilla LLP, an engineering and surveying firm based in Dallas, conducted an inspection and reported their findings in early October.
According to the inspection report, many of the walls’ cold joints – the intersections between the end of one concrete pour and the beginning of another – were “observed to have some degree of moisture penetration.” Similar water seepage was detected in the ceiling’s joints also, as well as a “hollow-sounding section of concrete was observed on the ceiling adjacent to one of the cold joints.”
The survey also detailed water penetration from below the structure and that the cracks appeared to be caused by shrinkage and not stress on the tunnel.
“There were no serious problems with it,” Patton said.
Mark D. LeMay, Jaster-Quintanilla project manager, also detailed possible repair and costs in the report.
“The most assured method of preventing this moisture penetration involves excavating the tunnel structure, and providing a seamless, waterproof membrane over all of the concrete surfaces. This, however, would be a costly operation that would involve extensive disruptions to the flow of traffic on SH 50 and the adjacent service roads. For this reason, it is our opinion that this option is not a viable solution,” LeMay wrote.
Because of the cost to repair the structure – an estimated $151,711.18, excluding the re-painting of the tunnel walls and ceiling – University officials have decided to seal off the little-used corridor.
Issues about student safety related to crime did not appear to be a major factor in the decision to close the tunnel.
Jason Bone, Texas A&M-Commerce crime information officer, said he had known of only one robbery at the tunnel during his 14-year career at the University.
“Just the fact that it’s a long stretch from daylight on either end,” Patton said. “I think from our standpoint that where there’s less traffic now, security is certainly something to think about.”
When the tunnel was built in the 1960s, the layout of the campus made the tunnel a practical way to keep campus residents out of highway traffic.
“When it was built the main justification for building it was that we had a lot of housing that was on the west side of the highway,” Patton said. “We had Watson Cafeteria on the west side that was providing meals for the people that were living in those dorms on the east side.”
Now that there are few students living on the west side and the current cafeteria is on the east side, Patton said there was little reason to spend the money to upgrade the tunnel.
“There’s discussion right now of the best way to close it off so that it’s safe and we don’t have to worry about someone getting down there and something happening,” he said.