On November 9, a hole appeared in the asphalt pavement near the front entrance of the Babbio Center. The hole went through one of the parking spots typically used by Campus Police and ran all the way down to the ground below the cliff.
The hole is likely another consequence of the rushed construction of some sections of the Babbio Center. Robert Maffia, Vice President of Facilities and Campus Operations, attributes the asphalt collapse to a breach in a temporary structure positioned above the Babbio Garage. Stevens had placed a timber retaining wall, a structure meant to hold soil in its place, underneath the pavement directly outside of Babbio. “Over the course of time, that timber gave way, and the dirt below the asphalt gave out” says Maffia. This breach in the retaining wall was likely the result of the collection of rain water in the general region of the Babbio front entrance.
Although the hole has been surrounded by metal barricades, Maffia stresses the fact that the hole is not a threat to anyone’s safety. “It’s not critical; it will not affect people walking in and out of Babbio.” Maffia also assured that Stevens is working towards getting the matter resolved, saying “we had an engineer come and take a look at it. They will put together a scope document so we can see what we can do about this.”
