In the wake of two gym roofs collapsing at the fitness center on the campus of Montana State, the University has put out some answers to many of the questions that students and the public have been asking.

Why were the gym roofs built with flat roofs? When will the area around the fitness center be open again? Is the University also worried about the roof of the Upper Gym? All these questions and more can be found by clicking on the button below.

Montana State University President Waded Cruzado issued the following update today:

Dear MSU Community,

First and foremost, I want to express my gratitude to all our students, faculty, staff and parents for their patience and understanding as we have worked through the roof collapses of our South and North gyms in the Marga Hosaeus Fitness Center.
I understand these events have been concerning as well as disruptive. I am very sorry for both.

On Sunday, we removed snow from the roof of the Leon Johnson annex, south of the high rise. This was the first snow removal you will see across campus this week. We are doing this out of an abundance of caution. This has been an unusual winter, and it is not over yet. We cannot predict what other storms may arrive in coming weeks and we want to be prepared. During our snow removal some sidewalks may be temporarily closed.

Additionally, MSU is reevaluating its protocols for snow monitoring and removal, particularly during extreme or sustained weather events like we experienced in February.

Last week, we had more than 24 structural engineers evaluate more than 40 buildings on campus. We will now begin a second and even deeper review of those buildings to help guide us on long-term changes in how we manage snow loads.
We have been posting updates to the web and will now add an FAQ section to the page: http://www.montana.edu/communications/south-gym-roof-collapse.html

As unfortunate as this event has been, I am grateful for the fact that not one individual was injured. My goal is that out of this unfortunate incident, we will build an even stronger university.

Sincerely,
Waded Cruzado
President, Montana State University

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