By Lili Martinez

As part of the Middle Path restoration project, which will continue through the year, surveyors were on campus last month determining the precise locations of the steam, electrical, water, gas and data lines that run under Middle Path. The surveyors arrived three weeks ago and assessed most of the south half of Middle Path, according to Grounds Supervisor Steve Vaden.

Weve still got to go on to Bexley Hall so theyre doing the whole thing, and thats a long way to go when youre surveying, Vaden said.

The survey is part of an initiative by Michael VanValkenburghAssociates Inc., a landscape architecture firm that presented a comprehensive master plan for the College to the Board of Trustees last spring. The plan addresses resurfacing Middle Path to make it more accessible, monitoring the health of the trees that grow along the Path and tackling drainage problems.

Knowing the location of the various lines that run underground from Old Kenyon to Bexley will make digging down and replacing the material that makes up Middle Path easier, Vaden said. Whenever they start that process of digging theyll know ahead of time where the lines are located. And those areas, instead of using a piece of equipment, they may have to hand-dig it, he said.

Excavation two weeks ago around the Gates of Hell is also a part of the project. Vaden said they were digging down in an attempt to find the bottom of each stone column, called the footer, in an attempt to get a footprint of how deep the gates are, and how wide they are.

The survey will also give the College a useful map of the lines locations to have on hand for future projects. When you go through campus, theres no overhead power lines, no telephone lines, all that stuff is buried, Vaden said. This will allow us to keep better track of what weve done.

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