As part of Founders Week, KSU will host groundbreakings for three campus construction projects during the university’s week-long celebration to commemorate its 50th anniversary.
Groundbreakings are scheduled for the construction of the Skip Spann Connector, the renovation of the Horace W. Sturgis Library and the construction of the Dr. Betty L. Siegel Student Recreation and Activities Center.
The Skip Spann Connector groundbreaking, set to occur Wednesday Oct. 9, will kick off the building of an Interstate 75 overpass connecting Frey Road to Busbee Drive. The $17.3 million overpass will allow for a new campus entrance near the East parking deck. The connector is named for former KSU fundraiser and Town Center Community Improvement Director Skip Spann and construction on the project is scheduled to be completed in two years.
“The Skip Spann Connector will greatly reduce traffic tie-ups on Chastain Road,” said KSU President Daniel Papp in his 2013 State of the University Address. “We owe a debt of gratitude to Governor Deal and the Georgia and Cobb County Departments of Transportation for making this happen.”
KSU will also celebrate the renovation of the Horace W. Sturgis Library Wednesday at 1 p.m. The $4.4 million renovation of the library expands upon a project to create a graduate library on the third floor as well as a book repository.
“While we still need more library space, in three years we will have devoted almost $6 million to improving the library,” Papp said in his address.
Groundbreaking for the Dr. Betty L. Siegel Student Recreation and Activities Center will occur Thursday Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. The $38.7 million project will more than triple the size of KSU’s current recreation and activities facility and will include an indoor and outdoor pool, five new basketball courts and a rock climbing wall, according to the Department of Sports and Recreation.
The 176,000 square-foot facility will be named after former KSU president Betty Siegel, who served the school for 25 years. Siegel was the first woman to head an institution in the University System of Georgia. Construction on the center is expected to complete by fall of next year.
