ENGR Building Cleared for Public Occupancy

May 10, 2006 — Today Dean Russell E. Trahan announced that the Engineering Building is cleared for public occupancy after having received an official certificate that the fire protection system, including the sprinkler system, is fully operational.

The first floor of the nine-story building will remain gutted for the time being until the College receives FEMA funding to replace the walls and furniture that were ruined by 18 inches of brackish flood waters. Attempts are underway to also obtain funding that will replace the sheetrock walls with masonry ones and to raise equipment so that any future flooding of the type experienced from Hurricane Katrina will not leave the building unsuitable for occupancy for an extended period. Meanwhile, efforts are being made to get some of the first floor labs back into operation.

Of five elevators, three remain inoperable. They were stopped at the ground floor when power went off during the storm so were damaged by the water. Two other elevators stopped on upper floors when the power failed so were saved from flood damage and were relatively easy to get back into service.

In his announcement to COE faculty, staff and students Dean Trahan wrote:

"... I want to express my sincere gratitude for the understanding of all faculty, staff, and students while we waited for the building to at least be officially cleared for occupancy. This has been a frustrating time for all of us, but we have somehow been able to cope and keep our College of Engineering in operation!! It has been a great team effort involving all of you to put the pieces back together. I am very optimistic that over the next year we will get the necessary repairs performed on our building and it will look better than before. ... I wish all of you a speedy recovery from any ill effects that you may have suffered in your personal lives from Katrina. Next year will be a great year for our College of Engineering; over the next couple of years we will become better than ever!!"