Photo by Kate Nuelle

Construction on Oakmont

The construction, done by the City of San Antonio Public Works Department, was completed in two days.

On Sept. 10, the City of San Antonio Public Works Department began construction to conduct improvements to and repave Oakmont Ct, located on Trinity’s upper campus. Although Trinity community members were warned in an email from TUPD that the renovation window was until Oct. 10, the project was completed quickly and people were back to parking on Oakmont Ct by Sept. 12.

“They ground [the pavement], they hauled it off, brought in new asphalt, paved it, rolled it and they’re gone and now we’re parking on it,” said Jim Baker, senior director of Facilities Services.

The improvements made to Oakmont were a city-sponsored project, the Public Works Department moving street-by-street to mill and overlay San Antonio roads. Trinity played no role in the project and underwent a quick turn-around to alert the community of parking limitations, having learned just days before that there would be construction.

“They have been repaving the streets in the neighborhood for I think nine months, and so they just kind of pick a street and progressively move through,” said Baker. “We really didn’t have anything to do with it. It was a great finished product, but not a university directive.”

The homes on Oakmont house many Trinity administrators, including Danny Anderson, university president, David Tuttle, dean of students, and Sheryl Tynes, vice president of Student Life. While technically a residential street, the houses on Oakmont are an integral part of Trinity’s landscape and the host of the university’s annual Christmas on Oakmont event. Oakmont is also used by many Trinity students as a place to park their cars due to its proximity to the Center for the Sciences and Innovation.

Oakmont Ct is not the only street near Trinity seeing renovations: Rosewood Ave underwent preservation in Nov. 2019 and Shook Ave is set to undergo reclamation in the city’s fiscal year of 2022, both projects a part of the City of San Antonio’s five-year rolling Infrastructure Management Program (IMP). The mill and overlay of Oakmont Ct are not included in the directory of IMP projects.

Further COVID-19 testing

More rounds of surveillance testing for COVID-19 are to come to the Trinity community in the upcoming weeks.

Given the zero percent positivity rate for the most recent surveillance testing, Trinity administration aims to continue rounds of testing on a biweekly basis. Extra precautions are being taken concerning the recent holiday Labor Day weekend and the potential of there having been social practices veering from COVID-19 health precautions.

University testing for COVID-19 is being administered in Murchison lounge, where Trinity’s health services partners from Florence Medical Group are stationed. Currently, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) “nasal swab” tests are being used, allowing for quick functioning.