Friday, June 27, 2008
Road work will straighten Bent Twig
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While USI employees and students are accustomed to construction on campus, Stephen Helfrich, director of Facility Planning and Operations, admits that in the coming months there will be more construction than usual. Last week contractor Blankenberger Brothers, Inc. submitted the winning bid for a road construction project that will straighten the curve in Bent Twig Road at Administrative Services Annex North (number 1 on the campus map). The road will be routed toward Reflection Lake in preparation for construction of the new Business and Engineering Center. A groundbreaking for the Business and Engineering Center will be held at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at the southwest corner of the USI Quadrangle near the Technology Center. Phase 1A of the road project will begin in July, but Bent Twig will remain open while the new section is constructed. Near the end of Phase 1A, in August or mid-September, Bent Twig will be closed south of the University Center pay lot as crews tie the new section into the existing road. For about two weeks at the end of construction, Clarke Lane/Bent Twig will be a two-way road leading back to University Parkway. After Phase 1A is complete, Clarke Lane/Bent Twig will revert to a one way street. Phase 1B of the road construction project will begin in spring 2009, when a roundabout will be constructed at the entrance to campus at Clarke Lane and University Boulevard, and Clarke Lane/Bent Twig will be upgraded with a change in the configuration of the entrances into Lots G and H. After that work is complete, Clarke Lane/Bent Twig will be a permanent two-way street. Other construction projects on the core campus include the Ceramics Center, which is expected to be complete in December (with demolition of the original ceramics building to follow in January 2009), the Recreation and Fitness Center expansion, renovation of the third level of the Science Center, and a new roof for the Wright Administration Building. Renovation and expansion of the University Center into the former library will begin in January 2009. Projects under construction off of the main campus include the McDonald East Community Building, set to open in August, and the Support Services Building on Bluff Lane on the east side of campus. Scheduled to be completed in December, the Support Services Building will be a new facility for maintenance, mail services, Procurement and Risk Management, and central receiving and warehousing. The Kenneth P. McCutchan Art Center/Palmina F. and Stephen S. Pace Galleries open in September. |
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