Facilities Management March 27, 2020 1

To: NDSU Facilities Management

From: Rachel Anderson

Samuel Boulton
Dayton Gonyea
Nicholas Cunningham

Date: March 27th, 2020

Subject: Skywalk Between FLC and Engineering Complex

Introduction
The Centennial Boulevard and Administrant Avenue intersection is known to be a very high
pedestrian traffic area during breaks between classes. This pedestrian traffic combined with
an equally busy motor vehicle intersection is very dangerous. Considering the frigid
temperatures and heavy snowfall that North Dakota winters bring, this intersection is very
high risk for accidents. We are a group of Civil Engineers in the undergraduate program here
at NDSU and we are proposing a solution to help lessen the potential dangers of this
intersection.

Problem
Fargo is located just a few hours south of the Canadian border making it one of the most
windy, bitter, and harshest cities in the United States during the winter season. Students
who attend North Dakota State University must experience the toughest winters to make it
to class; this causes concern for students who walk far distances on campus during
wintertime. Temperatures during the winter in Fargo can drop to
-30- and -40-degrees Fahrenheit; wind force can reach 40 to 50 miles per hour during a
typical week (WeatherSpark).

Currently NDSU does not have a successful, fully functioning skywalk or underground tunnel
system to combat the cold months. There is a skywalk stretching from Hultz Hall to Dunbar
hall, but this is the only skywalk that helps foot traffic across a road. The remaining skywalks
are connecting buildings that are within the same block, typically just tens of feet away from
each other. Furthermore, Hultz Hall and the skywalk that connects it to Dunbar Hall were
designed in 1976 when the number of students attending NDSU was far fewer than the
number there is today; so, foot and motor vehicle traffic were not as pressing of an issue as
today.

North Dakota State University holds 11,425 undergraduate and 1,866 graduate students
currently (North Dakota State University Relations); many of these students are walking
through campus each day. People who drive through campus at busy times of the day are
welcomed by thousands making it challenging to navigate through without accidents.

Research Summary
Our first source was found at the NDSU library and it is a news article from the “Concordian,”
which is a forum for issues facing the Concordia community. This news article mentions
details about the skywalk that was built across 8th street on the Concordia campus in
Moorhead. There are multiple different quotes in this article from different students
expressing their appreciation for having the skywalk, especially during the winter. This
Facilities Management March 27, 2020 2

skywalk also acts as a good safety measure; instead of walking across the street at night in
the dark, the students can pass through the skywalk right to their car.

In an additional source, Kingkade, who is a senior editor for the Huffington Post, writes about
the skywalks on Minnesota campuses. He explains how useful skywalks are on the University
of Minnesota campus in the Twin Cities. Students and staff use the skywalks to avoid traffic
and the weather without ever stepping outside. One of the main reasons that students use
skywalks is to avoid the cold, brutal weather during the winter months. Kingkade also wrote
that skywalks are “a connection between a few select facilities.” In addition to utilizing the
skywalks to avoid the cold weather and traffic, they use them to get to different facilities
quickly.

Another source we are utilizing comes from North Dakota State University’s Relations media
page. The authors give information regarding incoming freshmen numbers, overall student
enrollment, and statistics on the increase of students each year. This source is useful for
helping our group understand the overall numbers that may walk in the skywalk on a given
day.

Lastly, according to Michael Ellingson, the director of Facilities Management, the main issue
with providing NDSU staff and students with skywalks on campus is the budget constraints.
Ellingson stated that two skywalks have already been designed and are awaiting
construction. However, these skywalks are just a continuation of the existing Hultz Hall
skywalk and will only be helping direct traffic that goes east and west or within the same
block. The skywalk we are proposing would direct traffic going north and south across
Centennial Boulevard, which has not yet been done.

Proposed Idea
Utilizing these sources, we have created a solution to the various issues that this
intersection creates. Our proposal in short is to build a skywalk from the Family Life Center
over this intersection to the Engineering Building. This skywalk would move a portion of the
pedestrian traffic above the road which would keep them safely above passing vehicles and
out of the harsh weather conditions the winter months bring.

We chose this specific location because Centennial Boulevard is a street that runs east and
west through the middle of campus and provides a road to get to the engineering facilities,
the Family Life Center, Gate City Bank Auditorium, The Quentin Burdick building, and more.
Buildings located along Centennial Boulevard create most of the foot traffic during a given
day. Since this road runs through the center of campus, accumulates the most foot traffic,
and sees many near accidents, it is an optimal place to put a skywalk.

Additionally, the Family Life Center, Memorial Union, and the A. Glenn Hill Building are
connected through hallways and tunnels as are the Engineering Building, and Ehly Hall.
Connecting the Family Life Center to the Engineering Building via skywalk would effectively
link five buildings together. The skywalk our group plans to design would decrease the foot
traffic across this Centennial Boulevard intersection by nearly half; it would also decrease
near accidents to 0% for those who choose to walk in the skywalk verses the street. From
minimizing potential traffic dangers to helping create warmer routes going to class, the
skywalk’s benefits will definitely outweigh the costs.

Works Cited
Anderson, Tim. Sustainable Campuses. 2016.
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Ellingson, Michael, Facilities Management Director. Virtual Interview. March 26, 2020.

Kingkade, Tyler. “On Some Campuses, Students Get To Class With Underground Tunnels And Skywalks.”
HuffPost, HuffPost, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/tunnels-skywalks-campus_n_6547918.

North Dakota State University Relations. “NDSU 2019 Fall Enrollment.” North Dakota State University,
NDSU NDSU News, 30 Aug. 2019, www.ndsu.edu/news/view/detail/55266/.

“The Skyway or the Highway.” The Concordian, 16 Jan. 1998.

https://ndsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?
docid=alma9947432641501321&context=L&vid=01ODIN_NDSU:ndsu&lang=en&search_scope=M
yInst_and_CI&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,skyways
%20on%20college%20campuses&mode=basic
“WeatherSpark.com.” Average Weather in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, Year Round - Weather
Spark, weatherspark.com/y/9084/Average-Weather-in-Fargo-North-Dakota-United-States-Year-
Round.