Construction on McCarthy Mall Inconveniences Students and Faculty

Fences and heavy machinery forcing students and faculty away and inside

Editor's Note: After posting, more information about the McCarthy Mall construction was added for further context.

The campus at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has turned into a place of constant commotion as the persistent rumble of heavy machinery, and maze of orange cones leave students with a sense of unease.

For UH Mānoa students, the ambitious construction projects, designed to modernize and transform the campus, are less about long-term vision and more about the daily grind of navigating – what various students call – unnecessary construction.

“I’m a STEM major, so having the heart of construction be exactly where all the math and science buildings are located, is entirely inconvenient. I can no longer work outside or study at tables on campus because the noise is distracting. UH Mānoa has a beautiful campus, it's a shame the incoming freshman won’t be getting the full experience,” Mclenna Lane, a biology student at the university remarked.

Every day, the campus becomes a live obstacle course. Pathways are unexpectedly blocked, forcing students to re-route their journeys to class. Familiar shortcuts have quickly become dead ends, replaced by chain-link fences.

The constant dust kicked up by equipment and the unpredictable noise from jackhammers and saws have unfortunately become the new soundtrack of student life here on campus. The challenge of finding a quiet place to study has provoked a feeling of productive chaos, set as the new normal.

Inconveniences for a student trying to rush to a lecture or find a quiet place to focus go deeper than just minor annoyances; they have become a significant part of their daily reality.

“It [the construction] makes getting to classes take almost double the time it usually would,” Xiana Morris, an Engineering student at UH Manoa explained.

The extra time spent walking around a blocked road means not only being late for class, but the consistent racket shatters students' concentration.

Aside from the students, professors here on campus have also unintentionally established habits of being late to lectures because of traffic caused by construction.

“The traffic has been crazy these past couple weeks, the construction has made everyone a bit manic when it comes to parking and arriving on time to classes,” Kristin Kumashiro, a UH chemistry professor, said.

The day-to-day impact is undeniable, yet the university maintains that these temporary frustrations are a necessary precursor to a better, more modern campus. From an administrative point of view, the construction is the physical manifestation of a singular purpose: to modernize aging infrastructure and create a more student-centered environment.

“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” said Vice President for Administration Jan Gouveia. “Fortunately, the McCarthy Mall and Paradise Palms work is expected to be completed by early 2026. The short-term disruption will result in long-term benefits for our current and future students.”

The construction includes plans to feature more outdoor seating with electrical outlets, as well as a new five-story interdisciplinary building between Edmondson and Webster Halls. Other renovations include an expansion of Paradise Palms' entrance and include a glass canopy.

For example, the transformation of Sinclair Library into the new Student Success Center promises a state-of-the-art, air-conditioned hub with open study spaces and a new home for the UH Mānoa Esports team. Similarly, the new Interdisciplinary Learning Facility aims to revitalize the heart of campus with updated classrooms and office spaces.

The recently completed Hale Haukani student housing complex can also serve as a key demonstration of the university's innovative strides. Hale Haukani was built to address a critical housing shortage, and now provides hundreds of new beds for students.

These projects, which additionally include converting central campus roads into pedestrian malls, are part of a long-range development plan that is intended to align the physical campus with the university's mission as a Hawaiian place of learning.

Aside from the innovation this construction can provide, the issue remains that students are struggling to learn in this distracting and noisy environment. The promise of new and improved facilities fuels a sense of patience and excitement, but for now, the reality remains a daily negotiation with the difficulties of a campus under construction.