Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 30 April 30, 1998 - ACITC building construction to begin soon

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ACITC building construction to begin soon

By David Nutter

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 30 - April 30, 1998

Construction of the $26 million Advanced Communications and Information Technology Center (ACITC) should begin by the end of May.
The two-year project will have a significant impact on parking and vehicular traffic along the Mall. Preliminary site work for the project was undertaken during the week of Spring Break when the trees and other shrubbery along the hillside in front of Brodie Hall were taken down and removed.
Once the contract is signed, the contractor will erect a fence surrounding the construction site, said Jim McCoy, director of the university's capital design and construction office. McCoy said the fence will establish the perimeter of the actual construction site as well as the staging area necessary to house the construction trailers, materials, and equipment required for the project
The construction of the ACITC, with its arching bridge that will span the Mall, will eliminate all parking on the Mall for the duration of the project. The construction will also close the parking lot in front of the Performing Arts Building. Planning is under way to establish a temporary parking lot by Shultz Dining Hall to help offset some of the lost parking spaces.
McCoy said that once the fence goes up, both traffic lanes of the Mall will be closed until the beginning of the fall semester. This will enable the contractor to install the concrete foundations for the bridge that will span the Mall and connect to Newman Library.
Once the fall semester begins, McCoy said, the plan is to have the existing outgoing lane that runs next to Newman Library and Squires Student Center will be open for two-way traffic. Both incoming and outgoing traffic will be carried on the same lane. McCoy said, however, that delays in getting the project under contract may prevent the opening of this lane until some time after the start of the fall semester.
At the end of the 1998-99 school year, the Mall will be totally closed for the remainder of the project while the construction of the bridge is completed. McCoy said the entire project is scheduled for completion in June 2000.