Seismic Upgrading
Your article “Seismic Experts See College Buildings as Potential Deathtraps” (Feb. 1) neglected to mention that in the last seven years the University of California has completed or begun work on its nine campuses to reinforce over 100 older campus facilities against seismic risks.
As your story noted, plans call for completing work on 87 other facilities identified as needing seismic upgrading by the year 2001. We are now looking for ways to complete that work even faster.The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff are our top priority.
All of the university’s older residence halls have been reinforced and the buildings identified as having the greatest risk are being retrofitted in priority order as funding and scheduling permits. It was not until 1985 that the state began providing significant amounts of funds for seismic retrofitting. After the 1989 Loma Prieta quake, the university took out its own $50 million loan to help speed up the work.
S. SUE JOHNSON, Chair
Committee on Grounds and Buildings
UC Regent, Riverside
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