Pitt, state to fix Hillman roof

After trying to patch the roof of Hillman Library to repair leaks for several years, the… After trying to patch the roof of Hillman Library to repair leaks for several years, the University is now replacing the roof altogether.

Students are temporarily unable to use the walkway between the library and David Lawrence Hall, because it is being used to store the project’s construction materials.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele said that the roof has been patched “on and on over the past two to three years.”

He said that the University began attempting to fix the problem with patches when the building started leaking.

“As of last winter it was still leaking,” Fedele said.

Hillman isn’t the first campus building to have its roof replaced this year. In June, Pitt started working on replacing the roof of the Petersen Events Center.

Hillman – which is not actually owned by Pitt – was built in the 1960s. It houses 1.9 million volumes on five floors. The library is owned by the state of Pennsylvania.

Fedele said that Pitt usually plans for roof replacements to begin in May and to end in August.

Hillman is an exception because Pitt needed to wait for the allocation of the required funding and state approvals.

Fedele said that because Pitt does not own the Hillman Library, the cost of the new roof will be paid for by the state.

Pitt starting talking to the Department of General Services in the spring. The design for the new roof was finished early this summer.

Fedele said that the Department of General Services approved funding from the state in August and construction began soon after.

“We have made good progress so far, so if the weather holds, we may be able to complete early,” Fedele said.

He added that students have not complained about leaks in the library.

“(The leaks) are primarily in the book-stack area, with limited public access,” he said. “The majority of the reading and study areas are on the lower floors.”

Fedele described the damage done to the buildings and books as minor.

“When the leaks were noticed, the stacks and books were covered by plastic, thus avoiding extensive damage,” he said.

As of Thursday, Fedele was unable to provide The Pitt News with an estimate for the roof.