Construction work on the pathway immediately outside Front Arch is set to begin this Saturday, as College plans to return the entrance way to the appearance it held 100 years ago.
An email from Estates and Facilities stated that the entrance way will consist of smooth granite with a “cobbled stone pathway element” and will resemble that of the granite pathways in Trinity’s Front Square.
For approximately two weeks, the restoration will limit pedestrian access to the campus through Front Arch. Students have been warned that the entrance will be closed for a number of hours on Saturday and Sunday and the following weekend. In addition, at times only students and staff with college ID will be given permission to enter through Front Arch.
Students originally received notification via email of these renovations in September. They were told works would begin in October and would last four weeks. At the time of publication, Estates and Facilities had not responded to a request for clarification on why the commencement date was pushed back, nor why the estimated duration of the works has been reduced.
As excavation of the existing tarmac path is meant to occur during the first week, noise levels during this time period are expected to be quite high. However, the following week will consist of “relatively quiet work” as the contractor lays the remaining paving slabs and cobblestones.
The email from Estates and Facilities stated that works during the second week should not “be disruptive to university activities.”