UC Juggles Budget to Add $3.5 Million for Seismic Work

Calling the Northridge earthquake a wake-up call, University of California officials said Thursday that they are juggling their construction budget to allot $3.5 million for additional seismic retrofitting, including three buildings at UCLA.

Last month’s magnitude 6.8 temblor caused damage to UCLA’s Royce Hall, a landmark structure, and prompted some critics to say UC officials have been slow to seismically retrofit dozens of buildings that have been known as potential earthquake deathtraps since the late 1970s.

UC administrators said the Legislature has been stingy with money for seismic retrofitting and said they must also worry about building enough classrooms for their burgeoning student population.

On Thursday, officials changed their priorities by deferring plans for three capital projects--including construction of a southern regional library at UCLA--so additional seismic work could be put on a fast track.

In all, UC officials want to accelerate five retrofitting projects, among them UCLA’s Royce Hall, Kinsey Hall and the School of Dentistry building. The Hearst Memorial Mining Building at UC Berkeley and 10 wood-frame structures at UC San Diego were also listed.

William B. Baker, UC vice president for university and external relations, said administrators are hoping that the $26 million needed to repair and retrofit Royce Hall--originally not in line for such work until 1996--will come from the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.