After nearly 18 months of discussion, tenders and preparations, Concordia’s infrastructure project for the replacement of the Hall building’s escalators will begin on Jan. 17.
The $12 million project is to be funded by Quebec’s Infrastructure Program, and will be undertaken in collaboration with KONE, a company with a global presence in the elevator and escalator industry.
The old escalators are being replaced with “technologically advanced escalators,” according to Shelagh Peden, information and project coordinator from Concordia’s internal communications department. KONE is also currently in the midst of training its team of employees in the latest replacement techniques.
The work is to be divided into four different phases which will obstruct a certain number of floors at a time, Peden explained. The first phase, scheduled to last until August, will cover much of the east side of the Hall lobby, around the space that the Tim Hortons restaurant occupied. Concordia’s internal communications and facilities management departments will be posting updates at the beginning of each phase on the NOW events website.
The replacement of the currently unreliable escalators will come as a relief to the many students who dealt with their constant breakdowns over the last decade. Speaking to the Concordian last fall, political science student Avinash Razack recounted his experience of five or six escalators all not functioning at the same time. “If you’re paying so much money for tuition fees you expect the little things to work,” he said.
The project is scheduled for completion in 2013.
