After more than two years of funding attempts, design delays and campus power outages, repairs to SIUC’s failing electrical feeders have finally begun.

Sullivan Electric Co., 408 Court St., Marion, began organizing the construction Sept. 22 and began digging Sept. 29.

They have the duct in between the (CIPS) substation and Southern Hills right now, said Allen Haake, University architect. Now they’ll be installing additional duct (work) within Southern Hills.

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Haake said the electric company is concentrating on feeder 10 first, before it works on feeders 11 and 12. All work should be complete by the end of August 1998.

Right now they’re concentrating on a new feeder that will replace feeder 10 in Southern Hills, he said. Then they’ll work on 11 and 12, which go to other housing areas.

They’re trying to get all of the dirt work done before the weather gets bad.

Haake said work on feeders 11 and 12 will use pre-existing duct work to repair the system.

In February, after two years of partisan gridlock, the Illinois General Assembly appropriated $1.84 million to repair feeders 10, 11 and 12, which service University Park, Southern Hills, the Recreation Center and the Blue Barracks.

The failing system has resulted in a series of power outages, the most recent or which occurred in June when more than 15 buildings were without power for about six hours.

It’s been a long process to get where we are, said James Tweedy, vice chancellor for Administration. I am anxious to get it completed so we can have a much more reliable system.

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Haake is relieved that the project has finally started.

This has always been a problem, he said. If we can have a reliable feed plus a back-up feed to the different housing areas, that’s a great relief.

Tweedy is confident Sullivan Electric will do the job well.

If we weren’t confident, we wouldn’t have entered into a contract with them, he said. If the weather cooperates, I don’t see any problems at all.

One of the reasons for the long completion date is waiting on some of the parts.

Some of the switching gear and transformers takes quite a long time to deliver, Tweedy said.

Haake said the 10- to 12-week delivery period for some parts is one reason Sullivan was given almost a year to finish the project.

The University shifted $1.6 million budgeted for fiscal year 1997 projects at SIUC to repair main-line feeders 1 and 2 because they are considered critical.

Haake said the design plan for main-line feeders 1 and 2 is being given some final changes and adjustments and should be finished in the middle of October.

We want to receive bids sometime before Thanksgiving, Haake said. Main-line feeders 1 and 2 will be primarily installed underneath the pedestrian overpass (over South Illinois Avenue next to the Steam Plant), so we’re not going to be digging a whole lot, so that job should go a lot quicker.

Haake said main-line feeders 1 and 2, which supply power to 75 percent of the academic buildings, should be finished about the same time as feeders 10, 11 and 12.

He said if there is money left from the project, it will be used to return to projects on hold, such as air conditioning and roofing repairs at Faner Hall. As a precaution, the projects were included in the budget request for fiscal year 1999.

If we do have enough (left over) and we can do some of this work with these funds, we will, Haake said. And then we’ll use the funds coming in 99 for something else.

The good part about these funds is they are flexible.