Posted on Updated on

University to launch steam heating system improvements May 20

$5.7 million project to include replacement of aging, undersized emergency interconnection

PREVIOUS STEAM SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS: These insulated steam lines were installed in the summer of 2018 to improve the efficiency of the URI steam system. URI photo by Nora Lewis.

KINGSTON, R.I. – May 9, 2024 – The University of Rhode Island’s Facilities Group and the Office of Capital Projects will launch a $5.7 million construction project on Monday, May 20, to improve its steam heating and hot water system.

The work, planned and overseen by Capital Projects, a part of URI’s Facilities Group, will replace a 43-year-old emergency interconnection and install new steam lines in the areas of the Hammerschlag Mall, Farmhouse Road and the Elephant Walk. The work is essential to continue providing heat and hot water to Adams, Butterfield, Barlow, Bressler, Browning, Eddy, Hillside, Fayerweather and Gorham and Weldin residence halls, as well as the Memorial Union, Multicultural Student Services Center, and the Human Resource Administration and Research and Grant buildings. The upgrades are strategically designed to provide capacity for additional future development in the area.

To accommodate the stockpile of new steam pipes and space for equipment for the project, the area south of Lot 15 (Roosevelt Hall) will be closed to parking on Friday, May 10.  

Work in the area of the Hammerschlag Mall will run from mid-May until the end of August. The mall and areas surrounding it will be closed to pedestrian traffic during that period. Work along the Elephant Walk will begin in mid-May and continue through the end of the calendar year. Fencing and signs will mark restricted areas.

Kenneth Burke, associate director for Capital Projects, said his team worked with the offices of Admission, Dining Services, Housing and Residential Life, and Special Events, and the Department of Public Safety to maximize safety and minimize interruptions to campus operations.

“We will have the areas around the Hammerschlag Mall open for the start of classes in September 2024 so students, faculty and staff have full access to the Carothers Library and Learning Commons and other important facilities,” Burke said.

“The time has come for these needed infrastructure projects to be addressed,” Burke said. “Some buildings have small electrical backup hot water, but it’s not enough for full academic year occupancy, and not enough to provide heat during the winter months. We absolutely need these upgrades and improvements and we can only do the work during the summer, immediately after commencement.”

All phases of the project are slated to be completed by December, but Burke said work will be done in time so that the facilities listed in the project will have heat and hot water by the fall semester.

“This is a well-planned and coordinated effort,” Burke said. “We cannot enter another winter without these improvements. So we ask for people’s patience and cooperation as we all experience inconveniences that will accompany this project.”

The steam heating system, which dates back to the 1920s and which served 12 historic buildings on the Kingston Campus, now serves more than 50 buildings.

The focus of the project is to end reliance on a backup line that runs under the front of Memorial Union, the ramp under the Ram’s Den, and to green space behind the Memorial Union.

“We are creating a new line, which will start behind Davis Hall, continue behind the Human Resource Administration Building, the Multicultural Student Services Center, and run the length of the Elephant Walk,” Burke said. “Not only will this project replace an aging interconnection, it will increase efficiency with new pressure-rated and insulated pipes.”