Issue date: 9/20/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Sol Jung Construction worker Joe Davenport hammers on the 38th Street bridge while College sophomore Jonathan Moormann and other students walk by. Construction is slated to end today. [Click to enlarge]

Noisy jack-hammering on Locust Walk should come to an end today as University officials move into the next stage of renovations of the 38th Street pedestrian bridge.

The reconstruction, which has included loud drilling since last week, is part of a $128,000 effort by the University to spruce up the campus for Homecoming.

Officials will replace broken stones on the bridge bearing the names of donors, redesign the bridge's drainage systemand polish stainless steel fixtures on the bridge, said Penn Facilities project manager Marc Cooper.

Cooper added that the old drainage system, which used a pipe under a grill to carry rainwater to the bottom of the bridge, had to be replaced because of frequent clogging by mud and leaves.

"It was a big maintenance headache," he said.

After the completion of the construction, a slight depression in the concrete on both sides of the bridge will carry water down to piping on the side of Locust Walk.

Though the jack-hammering will end today, work on the bridge will last until mid-October, when officials will install newly engraved stones, Cooper said.

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