Every morning at sunrise, Mike Klapperich picks up his hard hat and flashlight to head to work. But unlike the millions of Americans who report to an office building with a scenic view, Klapperich's office is six feet below the ground, and his only view is of miles of steam and water pipes.
As students walk across campus to classes, Klapperich and 18 other steam fitters work underground to service and maintain the six miles of steam tunnels that connect the University's central and medical campuses together.
Not only do these tunnels connect underground and provide heat from a central powerhouse to campus buildings, but they are also a link to the University's past.
The narrow tunnels, which are about 6 feet tall and 7 feet wide, contain 29 miles of pipe that distribute steam, hot water and condensation to all campus buildings. Because none of the buildings on campus has a boiler, the University is dependent on this system to provide these utilities.
"(The system) generates electricity and steam with the same fuel - natural gas," said Bill Verge, manager of the University's utility systems. "The two sources of energy out of one fuel source is very efficient."
Although students in the past had easy access to the tunnels, today it is nearly impossible to take a trip underground because of tight security measures.
"We are very concerned about the safety of the tunnel for students and the security of the building," Verge said. "In the past, students used to get in quite often. Most of the time they were just fooling around."
Students caught trespassing in the tunnel could potentially be charged with unlawful entry, a misdemeanor charge, according to Department of Public Safety officials.
But there was a moment in University history where the tunnel served as more than a utility source.
It served as an escape route.
Under the administration of former University president Harold Shapiro, who served in the 1980s, the Board of Regents and Shapiro had to use the tunnel as an escape route to bypass protesting students. The regents were holding their monthly meeting in the ballroom of the Michigan League when they were met by an onslaught of angry students who were demanding that the University grant Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid activist, an honorary degree.
The students occupied the regents' seats in the meeting room and refused to move. Consequently, the eight regents decided to continue their meeting in the Regents' Room of the Fleming Administration Building. But they were not quick enough to beat the students, who had raced to Fleming and blocked the entrances by chaining the doors closed.
Determined to finish the meeting, the regents and Shapiro entered the underground tunnel through an undisclosed building and crouched their way to the Fleming Administration Building.
"It was sort of fun," said Thomas Roach, regent emeritus. "I had always heard of the connections as a student and there were always stories about them.
"It was a matter of principle that we would not let the students shut the meeting down. We would give them the latitude to protest, but we would not capitulate."
Roach said the regents were not upset by the incident and their mood was light.
The tunnels have been in existence since about 1915. Most of the tunnels are constructed of re-inforced concrete, but the older tunnels closer to the center of campus are made of brick.
The steam fitters spend their days crouching and ducking pipes, sometimes working in temperatures as high as 130 degrees, depending on the tunnel's location. They upgrade pipe systems and change expansion joints, relying solely on painted points of reference to tell them under which part of campus they are working.
In the summer, air conditioning units and fans flush fresh air through the tunnels, cooling down the steam fitters. Ventilation is also achieved through "sidewalk doors," which are rectangular versions of manholes, and steel grates fastened to the top of some kiosks located around campus.
Klapperich, who has been a steam fitter for six years, said he doesn't get lonely spending his days in the tunnels.
"When you go down to the tunnel, it is pretty much like working in a building, but you are secluded from everybody else," he said. "In that sense, it's good because there are no obstacles in your way."
JOHN KRAFT/Daily
Steam fitter Mike Klapperich takes a closer look at just one of the steam tunnels that snake for miles just beneath the University.