September 27, 1999
Construction continues in 1990-2000
By Jim Burns
The following is an update on some of the major construction projects planned
for the campus during the current academic year. The listing includes some of the
expected impacts the projects may have on members of the campus community.
Bay Tree Bookstore expansion and Graduate Commons:
Work will continue on exterior and interior walls, and mechanical, electrical,
and plumbing systems will be installed for the 6,600-square-foot commons and 30,000-square-foot
bookstore. The commons will offer office and recreational space for graduate students
and space that will be occupied by the Whole Earth Restaurant. The new Bay Tree Bookstore
building will feature an expanded selection of books, supplies, and services, and
its third floor will feature office space for an expansion of Student Services, four
conference rooms, and two outdoor decks. A pedestrian plaza is also planned. The
projects, totaling $13.5 million, are expected to be completed during spring 2000.
Hagar Drive, near the project, will remain one way, northbound, throughout construction.
There will be occasional traffic delays due to construction vehicles. Construction
noise in immediate area (Whole Earth Restaurant and Bookstore) will be experienced.
Interdisciplinary Sciences Building:
Construction is expected to start late this fall on the new Interdisciplinary
Sciences Building, which will be built as an addition to the eastern end of Natural
Sciences 2. The building will provide 34,137 assignable square feet of teaching,
laboratory, research, office, and support space for the Environmental Studies, Astronomy,
and Physics Departments. Construction on the $16.5 million project is expected to
be completed by winter 2001. There will be traffic delays on the service road to
the Science Library, Earth and Marine Sciences, and Natural Sciences 2. Pedestrian
paths will be rerouted along the construction site. Temporary parking impacts will be
experienced.
OPERS Fitness Center:
Interior finishing work, landscaping, and road resurfacing continues for the
new 10,600-square-foot weight-training and fitness center for the Office of Physical
Education, Recreation, and Sports. Construction on the $4 million facility is expected
to be completed and exercise equipment installed in late fall.
College Nine Apartments:
Construction is continuing on the College Nine Apartments, located north of the
existing Colleges Nine and Ten academic buildings. The $20.76 million project will
provide housing for 280 undergraduate students. Traffic delays at access road to
Social Sciences 1 and 2 due to construction deliveries. Construction-related noise
expected.
Core West Parking Structure:
Preliminary site work has been done. Bids were received August 24, and completion
of construction is scheduled for October 2000. Short-term construction impacts include
loss of 66 parking spaces in Lot #112 and up to 16 parking spaces in Lot #113 that
will be used for construction staging. Temporary noise impacts during construction
could be experienced at nearby science buildings (Natural Sciences 2, Baskin Engineering,
and Sinsheimer Labs) and at the Graduate Student Apartments. Noise mitigation measures
such as restricted hours of operation will be required to minimize noise impacts.
Some pedestrian circulation could be subject to temporary adjustments to accommodate
construction. Project includes improved and/or new pedestrian, bicycle, and transit
facilities.
Center for Ocean Health:
Construction of the site work portion of this Long Marine Laboratory project
is expected to start this fall. The building will consist of office and laboratory
space for the Institute of Marine Sciences and other campus units involved in marine
research. The project is partially funded by a gift from the Packard Foundation.
Several of the existing modular office units will be removed to make way for the
construction. Construction traffic should be expected in the vicinity of the existing
facilities and the Long Marine Lab access road.
Long Marine Lab infrastructure improvements:
A project to extend sewer and natural gas underground piping to the Long Marine
Lab is expected to begin in the fall and be completed by approximately January 2000.
Traffic delays will occur along the length of the access road to the Long Marine
Lab as work progresses. The road will remain open to traffic throughout construction.
Improvements to Arts Facilities:
Construction completed.
Seymour Marine Discovery Center:
Construction completed.
Road resurfacing and repair projects:
Physical Plant will construct retaining walls and repair and resurface several
campus roads this fall. These include McLaughlin Drive, from the bridge east of Science
Hill to Heller Drive; Steinhart Way, from the McLaughlin intersection to the bookstore
parking lot; and Heller Drive, from the College Eight entrance to near the McLaughlin
Drive intersection. The work is scheduled to begin September 27 and end November
19. During the road repair projects there will be one-way traffic at the various
work locations on Heller, Steinhart, and McLaughlin. There will be flagperson traffic
control at these locations and delays up to 3 minutes should be expected to allow
traffic to pass from the opposite direction.
Roof-repair projects, renovations:
Physical Plant plans roof work for Hahn Student Services (8/19/99-10/18/99),
the Communications Building (9/27/99-10/19/99), the Central Garage (9/30/99-11/14/99),
and the East Field House dance studio and activity building (10/4/99-12/4/99). In
addition, crews will renovate restrooms in the Crown College academic building and
replace windows in Porter College Building D. For more information about the Physical
Plant projects listed above (road and roof projects), call Henry Salameh at (831)
459-3365 or send e-mail to salamehh@cats.ucsc.edu.
