Summer construction preview

Once again, this summer will see a variety of construction activities both on and around the West Lafayette campus. Faculty, staff, students and visitors are expected to exercise caution in areas where work is taking place.

The most current construction information is available on the Physical Facilities Construction Notices and Maps website at www.purdue.edu/physicalfacilities/construction_notices.html. That site contains links to earlier notices including the summer parking garage cleaning schedule, which starts this week in the McCutcheon Drive garage and goes next to the Grant Street garage on June 2.

Approximately 280 projects will be in process this summer, and while some of them will be building-specific roof replacements or brick repair projects, others will have the potential to impact travel and may even carry over into the fall semester.

U.S. 231 Bypass (currently under construction)
The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) continues to work on the U.S. 231 Bypass project from South River Road to U.S. 52. The contractual project completion date is September 2013. Motorists should not access the new section of roadway until it officially opens. 

U.S. 231 repair and resurface
INDOT will be repairing and resurfacing U.S. 231 from South River Road to U.S. 52. As the project progresses along U.S. 231, traffic will be restricted to one lane in the area the contractor is working. The project schedule estimates completion in early August.

Northwestern Avenue projects
Multiple projects will affect traffic along Northwestern Avenue this summer.

* The U.S. 231 repair and resurface project described above will restrict traffic to one lane when the contractor is in the area of U.S. 231 that overlaps Northwestern Avenue.

* Indiana American Water will be completing a water main replacement from Stadium Avenue to Lindberg Road that will result in various lane closures.

* The construction of Wang Hall across Northwestern Avenue from the Physics Building will necessitate the closure of the easternmost northbound lane adjacent to the construction site.

* The construction of a new building known as 720 Northwestern Avenue at the corner of Evergreen and Northwestern Avenue will reduce Northwestern to one lane northbound in front of the construction site until 2014.

* Construction of Bailey Hall at the southeast corner of Northwestern Avenue and Grant Street will affect pedestrian traffic and alley access from Northwestern Avenue.

* Vectren Energy will be repairing and replacing their utilities along Northwestern Avenue between Stadium Avenue and Lindberg Road.

* The City of West Lafayette will be constructing new islands, walkways and trails along Northwestern Avenue between Lindberg Road and the Yeager roundabout. They will also be installing new signals and reconstructing the intersection of Northwestern Avenue and Lindberg.

A five-phase water line replacement project along South University Street will affect both parking and through traffic between State Street and Harrison Street. Only a section of South University Street will be closed at one time, but at no time during the project will vehicles be able to travel through from State Street to Harrison Street (or vice versa). 

A tunnel project will be underway from Stadium Mall north to Tower Drive. Construction fencing will be in place near the tunnel accesses, and John R. Wooden Drive will be closed between Lambert Fieldhouse and Cary Quadrangle East. To help maintain traffic flow in the area, Tower Drive will change from a one-way street between Russell Street and Wooden Drive to a two-way street. The project should be complete in early August.

A multifaceted project on and around the Math Sciences Plaza began this spring and is expected to continue into the fall semester. The project includes waterproofing the Math breezeway, repairing tunnels and water mains and renovating the Math Sciences Plaza landscape and hardscape. The construction area will be contained by fencing, and the project will affect traffic on Third Street near Elliott Hall of Music for the installation and repair of water lines. Parking on the north and south sides of the south branch of Oval Drive will be removed and traffic will be reduced in the area.

With an anticipated completion date in the summer 2014, the Center for Student Excellence and Leadership (CSEL) will provide a space for programs that help retain students and support their success at Purdue. The location of this project will be on Vawter Field at the corner of Third Street and Martin Jischke Drive. There may be periodic traffic interruptions on Third Street for materials delivery.

Also expected to be complete in the summer 2014, Vawter Field Housing (the project name) will be a 300-bed residence hall designed to support student learning and retention to improve academic success. This facility will be located next to the Center for Student Excellence and Leadership. There may be periodic traffic interruptions on Third Street for materials delivery.

Planned to be completed in June, the Ray W. Herrick Laboratories will house the Living Laboratory office building, the Performance Based Engineering Laboratory and engine test cells for the testing of alternative fuels and power generation. Herrick Laboratories is on the west side of Russell Street between State Street and Harrison Street and will be occupied this summer.

The new Lyles-Porter Hall, being built at the corner of University Street and Harrison Street, will house the Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, the Indiana University School of Medicine-Lafayette and other health programs. Construction is anticipated to be complete in spring 2014 with the facility being operational for fall semester 2014.

The new Drug Discovery Building will provide state-of-the-art chemistry research space that is safe, modular and capable of the strict environmental control needed for groundbreaking research in biochemistry related to drug discovery. The new facility, northwest of Lyles-Porter Hall, will partially replace existing laboratory space in Wetherill Laboratory. Construction is anticipated to be complete in spring 2014.

The new Harrison Street Parking Garage will accommodate 850 vehicles and will be attached on the ground floor to the west side of Lyles-Porter Hall. Construction is anticipated to be complete in spring 2014, with the facility being operational for fall semester 2014.