A variety of summer construction projects are under way at Washington State University#s Pullman campus, with two causing changes in traffic patterns. The most visible is the reconstruction of south Stadium Way. Detours around construction efforts, seen in photo, are slowing traffic somewhat, but, so far, things are moving relatively smoothly.
Traffic-related projects include the remodeling of south Stadium Way and redevelopment of Library Road. Other construction projects include the Murrow Addition, Shock Physics, the indoor practice facility, and the heat-to-power energy plant, if it is approved by the Board of Regents.
Here are a few of the details.
Library Road ? Phase 1
This project will begin at College Avenue and Library Road and extend 300 feet north from Stimson Hall. The design will reduce automobile traffic and introduce wider walkways, landscaped areas, pedestrian lighting, bench seating and new signage.
During construction, only service and emergency vehicle access will be allowed. Pedestrians paths will be detoured around Fulmer and Science. A single traffic lane will remain open for emergency vehicles only. Construction will begin in early June and be substantially complete in October.
The project involves replacement of several large, older trees now lining the road. Facilities Operation Grounds Department performed a hazard tree assessment on the silver maples on Library Road. Five of the trees on the east side are slated for removal and one has already been eliminated due to significant decline. Of the silver maples on the west side, one has a hazard rating. The remaining four will be removed due to the impact and design of the project.
These are mature, high canopy, deciduous trees that will be missed when replaced by immature trees. However, replacement trees will be large-canopy sugar maples, interspersed and accented by quaking aspens. Ground cover also will be added with Siberian carpet cypress, English ivy and yew shrubs.
Better lighting, orientation and safety is another segment of this project, with lighting standards interspersed at regular intervals and freestanding, directional and building signs identifying roads, buildings and their occupants.
South Stadium Way ? Phase I
A major remodeling of Stadium Way will occur from the Nevada intersection (next to the hospital), to Grimes Road, on the south side of French Administration. This will be the first of two phases, with the second tentatively slated for 2003 (funding permitting).
This project will include:
? Total repaving of the street, both top and sublevels.
? Widening of the street to include a 7-foot-wide center median with trees and grass. The median will feature well-defined crosswalks that provide interim pedestrian safety zone while crossing Stadium Way.
? A two-lane roadway on each side of the median, with each lane 11 feet wide.
? Additional pedestrian lighting
? Installation of a traffic signal at the Nevada-Stadium Way intersection, which will be synchronized with the lights at Grimes and Wilson to minimize congestion.
? Removal of the pedestrian bridge at Kruegal Hall
? Installation of new information signage
? Construction of bus shelters from Nevada to Colorado/Orchard
? Fencing around Mooberry Track (similar to that around Rogers Field)
? New storm sewer piping just east of the Grimes-Stadium Way intersection
Two lanes of traffic will be open during a majority of the construction period as contractors will work only one side of the road at a time. If shutdowns are required, traffic will be detoured via a Olympia/Grimes or Quad Services/Wilson route with signage or flaggers. Shutdowns of Stadium will not occur during heavy commute periods unless an emergency occurs. The contractor will provide/maintain access for vehicles and pedestrians to buildings that are adjacent to the construction zones.
Construction on Stadium Way is expected to commence June 3 and the road should be fully useable by Aug. 15.
Murrow Hall Addition
Groundbreaking for the $12.6 million Murrow Hall Addition is slated for mid-May. This multistory facility will provide 24,022 square feet to the School of Communication and is scheduled for completion in June 2003. The project, which will bring the closure of the Green 2 parking lot between Thompson Hall and Morrill Hall, will provide:
? 25 faculty/graduate student offices
? a radio broadcasting and teaching laboratory
? a multimedia lecture hall seating 175
? research labs for measuring psycho/physiological responses to communications
? an administrative office suite, including workroom and conference room
? a television studio for broadcasting TV news and special productions
? a seminar room for upper-division graduate classes
? a computer terminal lab with 20 stations
There will also be minor renovations in the existing Murrow Hall.
The project will alleviate scheduled instructional space shortages, provide additional capacity for projected enrollment growth, and improve the quality of the instructional program.
Shock Physics
Construction will continue throughout the summer on the $12.4 million Shock Physics building. Groundbreaking for the project was Sept. 22, 2001, with the completion expected in 2003.
The new three-story building will give the institute some 33,300 gross square feet, three times more space than the institute has in Webster. There will be more laboratories and other facilities, including a new laser laboratory and a new high-pressure laboratory. As part of the project, some Webster Building classrooms and auditoriums also will be renovated. The new facility will house $5 million in research equipment funded through various agencies.
The Office of Naval Research has awarded Shock Physics Institute and the Department of Physics a five-year, $5 million grant to establish a comprehensive, fundamental research program that will address the Navy?s long-term research objectives regarding the performance and safety of explosives and propellants. The program also has received a $10 million grant from the DOE to study the response of materials under shock-wave conditions, which will help the DOE determine the reliability of the nation?s nuclear stockpile in an age of nuclear test bans. Shock-wave research at WSU began in the late 1950s.
Indoor Practice Facility
Construction of the indoor practice facility on South Fairways, which began last fall, will continue throughout the spring and summer. The facility consists of an air-inflated fabric structure over playing surfaces that will support practice for 14 of the 17 Cougar varsity sports. The primary surface will be a rubber floor for track and field practice. A rollout AstroTurf system will be used for other field sports such as football, soccer and baseball. The $6.2 million project is funded by private donations. It is expected to be completed by fall 2002.
For additional information on these and additional construction projects, click on the following link to the Capital Projects Web site.
