Cal State Long Beach has plans to make Language Arts buildings 2, 3 and 4 more earthquake-safe by the end of fall 2011.
During this time, the buildings will be closed and vacated. According to Sue Brown, director of physical planning and construction management, because the Hall of Science will be finished by that time, classes normally scheduled in the LA buildings will most likely be moved to Peterson Halls 1 and 2.
Concerns arose about the seismic safety of the LA buildings after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, centered in Baja California, rattled Long Beach last year.
According to Brown, there aren’t concerns that the buildings may collapse during an earthquake.
However, construction will help strengthen the structure so students will be able to safely exit the buildings.
Geology professor Nate Onderdonk said a strand of the Newport-Inglewood Fault runs through CSULB’s campus. The fault was the cause of the 6.4-magnitude Long Beach earthquake in 1933.
Onderdonk said, “The Newport-Inglewood fault is a slower moving fault.”
Onderdonk added that if Long Beach were to suffer damages from an earthquake, there are greater chances with other faults, like the San Jacinta Fault and the San Andreas Fault, which he said is overdue for a rupture.
The interval between major ruptures in the San Andreas Fault is estimated to be about 140 years, and the last major rupture was in 1857. However, The San Andreas Fault Zone is more than 60 miles away.
Brown said the physical planning department is working with Steinberg Architect to create preliminary designs and plans.
The plans will be brought to the Cal State University Chancellor’s Office in hopes of gaining renovation funds. She said that she hopes the plans will be approved before the end of the year.
“Our goal is to start constructing as early as next summer,” Brown said.
According to Brown, the plan is for construction to continue through the fall semester.
There are also plans to put air conditioning and heating systems into the buildings, in addition to fixing up surrounding courtyards and renovating classrooms for a better learning environment.
Brown said that getting funding for any kind of construction on campus is difficult, but this project “is an important enough initiative for us that we will be looking at all options in order to get funding for the construction.”
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