After the first week of the fall semester, the elevator in building 26D was shut down, with a sign reading “elevator out of order” posted on each of the four floors.

According to Fernan Siocon, construction project manager, the elevator was experiencing some faults that required it to be shut down. He pointed out that they are aware of how important the elevator is, which is why repairing it is a top priority.

Due to the importance of the elevator, they filed the project as an emergency in order to be able to work on it as soon as possible. Otherwise, the paperwork to get a job done would take about two months.

During the shutdown, the only alternatives were going up and down the stairs in building 26D or walking over to building 26A and using the elevator there.

The 26D elevator was left untouched due to a lack of parts. Siocon explained that although they ordered the parts on Sept. 2, it takes approximately one to two weeks for them to come in.

“Once [elevators] close down, we need to fix it right away,” Siocon said.

The elevator was originally scheduled to operate again on Sept. 16, but since the parts were delivered sooner, the elevator was up and running during the beginning of the week of Sept. 9.

Siocon expressed that they are aware that it was an inconvenience not only for students and staff, but also an inconvenience to the construction workers who were working on repairing the restroom in 26D.

“I do teach two classes for deaf and hard of hearing students, and many of them also have other motion disabilities, and for them, it’s been a nightmare,” English professor Jill Gold Wright said. “It’s been a total nightmare.”

Now that the elevator is running again, the next step is to renovate the interior. They will be replacing the flooring of the elevators located in 26D and 26A in another month or so, according to Siocon. His team is waiting on the approval to move forward with that step.