There is light at the end of the tunnel. While campus construction has become a part of life at TCU, there’s hope that within a year there won’t be a crane in sight.

TCU began construction of the Brown-Lupton University Union on Dec. 18, 2006, which, when finished, will complete the new Campus Commons area.

The commons area will also include four new residence halls and multiple indoor and outdoor dining options.

This will give students a central location in which to eat, talk and interact with each other, said Don Mills, vice chancellor for student affairs.

The union will feature a 350-seat theater for films, lectures and performances; a ballroom and a conference center.

It will benefit students both academically and socially and make TCU a more pedestrian-friendly, residential community, Mills said.

Mills said a restaurant will also be included in the union. “It will be like a sports bar without the bar,” Mills said.

Mills said the new union will provide students with a variety of programs and dining options creating “a very significant change in student life.”

The union is being built adjacent to Stadium Drive across from Amon Carter Stadium. As a result, the parking lots of Colby and Moncrief halls are permanently closed.

Travis Bowles, a junior communication studies major, said he thinks the new union will improve the public image of TCU and will definitely attract more applicants. He said he’s disappointed that he won’t be able to reap the benefits of the completed project.

The completion of the new union will cement a 12-year relationship between Linbeck Construction and TCU.

Tom Hale, senior project manager, said the construction is progressing well and is scheduled to be completed July 2008. Since Dec. 18, there have been two days of rain through which Linbeck employees worked.

Hale said he is hoping for weather cooperation and will do everything necessary to finish the project on time.

“We will not finish late,” Hale said. “That’s not an option.