By Gary Collins/managing editor
Caution, detour, closed to traffic and hard hat zone are just a few signs students can expect to find posted around the campuses.
The districtwide campus improvements will continue through the spring and into the summer semester. Some projects are finishing while others have yet to begin.
“Generally everyone should use caution around the construction sites and equipment,” John Dawson, director of facilities and planning, said. “Should you have to be near these areas, use extreme caution and exercise additional attentiveness to avoid potential blind spots of the equipment operation.”
Districtwide
Three sizeable construction projects that will benefit all four campuses are scheduled. The district will install improved exterior lighting, replacing signage and way finding and make improvements to parking and traffic flow.
“The NE Campus lighting project is approximately 70 percent complete, and 90 percent of the new light fixtures are erected and operational with the exception of the new loop road,” Dawson said.
The lighting fixtures on NW are 40 percent complete while on South Campus the contractor has begun drilling the piers for the new light poles and routing the power lines. Once the NE lighting installation is complete, SE Campus will get additional lighting.
Dawson said the new signage and way finding includes directional marquees located at four major points on each campus to provide aid to new students and visitors.
To alleviate heavy traffic, South, SE and NW campuses will receive entrance modifications.
“Under design is a redesign of the main entrance off of Southeast Parkway, which is 70 percent complete in design,” he said.
Construction is expected to begin in the fall, and Dawson said the redesign is expected to relieve traffic into the campus, improve vehicular cueing and add dedicated turn lanes.
“The new entrance [on South Campus] will be further north and provide additional time and distance to decelerate from the interstate and navigate across the access road to line up for turning into campus,” he said.
“It will also relive some congestion to Campus Drive users.”
The new entrance project also includes additional landscaping for a better first impression when someone visits the campus, Dawson said.
NW Campus will get a new access road off of Loop 820 with construction scheduled to begin summer 2008.
“The road will provide another entrance and exit onto the 820 service road relieving congestion off the current entrance on Marine Creek Parkway,” he said.
On NE Campus, the new loop road will move the existing loop road to the perimeter of the parking lots, thus relieving some of the peak traffic congestion.
SE Campus
The Arlington campus received an interior renovation last semester, getting new carpet in the Commons areas.
SE will receive a new 100,000 square foot wing on the southeast corner of the campus. The new wing is expected to add 40 classrooms, labs and support spaces.
NW Campus
Renovations are continuing on the WTCS including 52,000 square feet, adding new classrooms, two lab spaces and an elevator on the east end of the building.
South Campus
The lower level of the Learning Resource Center will be remodeled adding a new entrance that will include an elevator. The renovation recaptures the open space in the center courtyard for a computer lab. The project is expected to be completed by April.
NE Campus
Along with the new loop road, new additions are pedestrian walkways. Other projects in the works are a renovation of the Business Building and the relocation of the academic computing functions.
