What is that sound?  Since the beginning of the spring semester of 2015, construction has taken place all around the Elgin Community College campus.

There are two ongoing projects, but construction is predicted to end before winter break.

The construction started all the way back in July.

The two projects combined are estimated to cost around 700,000 dollars.   

Paul Dawson, the managing director of construction, describes the projects’ objectives.

“The first [project] is something we called tuck-pointing and power washing the exterior of the building in that area. We are also fixing the bricks on the building that has cracks. We are also fixing any cracks with the concrete above the bricks,” Dawson said.

The second project has to do with the landscaping.

“We are replacing the drains and the planters and putting in a new water-proof membrane and we’re putting dirt back in so more plants can grow,” Dawson said.

The construction has elicited attention from students and faculty alike.

“We have only gotten one complaint about the construction since it started in July,”  said Dawson.”The school sent out an email to the staff telling them that this would be happening.”

One staff member who feels inconvenienced by the construction is English professor Lori Clark, who has an office right in front of the construction in building B.

“I first noticed the construction over the summer when I was teaching summer classes here at ECC,” Clark said.

The construction team set up conveyor belts to transport materials to the job site, and these conveyor belts seem to be the major issue with most people.

“A month or so ago, I had to yell at students…because the noise was so loud,” Clark said. “There were a couple of weeks last month I had students come in here for conferences and it was so loud that I could hardly hear what they were saying.”

Other faculty members, such as English professor Eric Long, whose office is two doors down from Clark’s, do not seem to mind the noise.

“I don’t think it has much [consequence]. I have to walk a different route to my office, but that’s about it,” said Long. “It does not really bother me when I’m in my office either; I understand maintenance is a necessary thing. We have a beautiful campus and we have to keep it that way.”