The sound of equipment and workers can be heard again as construction for the J. Leonard Paul library has resumed after 50 days of silence.

Chancellor Charles B. Reed had previously stopped all projects on every CSU campus due to the uncertainty of the state budget on Jan. 9. Since the signing of the budget by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Feb. 20, the CSU was able to seek bond funding again, but only selective projects were given the green light to continue.

"The CSU has resumed those projects that are well into construction, where further delay would mean additional costs and disruption to campus operations," said Simon Lam, associate vice president of the university's planning department.

The delay indeed caused some additional costs for the library, which include bringing back equipment and workers to the site, according to Lam. Workers officially went back to the site on March 2.

Eric Stenman, president of Barnhart, Inc., said it was "too early to tell" what exactly those additional one-time costs would be. Barnhart, Inc. is the contractor for the library renovations. Lam is in negotiations with the contractor to minimize the costs.

"It's just great to be back... because the students need a library," said Stenman.

The monthly cost of $1.75 million to the contractor will remain the same.

The two-month delay will also affect the opening of the new library equivalent to the time of the suspension. The library is now expected to be completed in the late fall of 2011, according to Lam.

Other projects affected by the freeze included the Technology Infrastructure System. The project involved the installation of wiring and other technologies to several buildings on campus. Additional costs to the project are uncertain, but costs will be related to bringing back materials and workers.

Deborah Masters, university librarian, wants to reassure students that the library is still fully operational, "just in different ways and locations."

Stacey Hughes, 22, a business management major finds the prolonged delay an inconvenience. "It's confusing because everything is spread out. And a lot of people don't know where things are located."

Carlos Luna, a 26-year-old student library assistant, was pleased to hear that construction had started again.

"I think it's awesome, but it's lame that they stopped in the first place. It's annoying to us [employees of the library] because people get angry at us because they assume we're responsible for problems with the construction," said the psychology major.

Library Annex 1, located on North State Drive near the corner of Winston Drive and Lake Merced Boulevard and the HSS library are open 24 hours, except for breaks and holidays.

For more information about the library project, visit the library project Web site.