Campus readies for $300 million overhaul

Nearly $300 million in construction projects are scheduled on campus this year, an ambitious building plan that will affect campus roads and parking.

Ten building projects totaling $171 million are slated to begin construction this year, with two — the Fluno Center for Executive Education and the Lot 36 (Steenbock Memorial Library) Ramp — expected to break ground in April. Ten other projects totaling $94 million are expected to be completed this year, not counting the $76 million Kohl Center, which opened in January. (For details on all the projects and their impacts, see map.)

Several road and utility projects are scheduled as well, including an overhaul of the Park Street underpass, planned by the City of Madison, that will close Park Street from Regent to Dayton streets from July to October.

The construction boom will result in the reconfiguration of some university roads and the loss of more than 350 parking spaces, which will be replaced in the next few years through construction of several parking ramps.

“We have a tremendous amount of construction activity about to begin, in addition to the many projects that will be completed this year,” says Bruce Braun, assistant vice chancellor of Facilities Planning and Management. “We are concerned about the impact these projects will have on our students, staff, faculty and visitors, and we are examining measures to help ease the inconvenience some people will experience.”

Braun emphasizes that not all of the projects will be underway at the same time, which he says will help alleviate some of the inconvenience. His office is considering how to keep the public and UW community informed of the projects as they progress this year, including using the World Wide Web to post updates.

One of the most visible projects will be the city’s Park Street renovation, which will create a four-lane, divided underpass and raise the railroad tracks that run above the street. The project will start in March and last about 18 months. Braun says the university will undertake an education campaign to make sure motorists are informed about the project and how to best navigate the campus while Park Street is closed.

The west side of campus will be a hub of construction activity this year. Additions to the Waisman Center and the Clinical Sciences Center will begin in July and August, respectively. Construction of the new School of Pharmacy building will start in September. As part of the Pharmacy project, Observatory Drive will be reconfigured to the north, with work to begin in May, and utility work in this area will close Marsh Terrace.

UW Medical School Dean Philip Farrell, a member of the Campus Planning Committee, told that group last month that the short-term inconvenience of construction won’t compare to the long-term benefits as the university replaces and remodels outdated facilities and keeps pace with technological growth in the biological sciences.

“This is the price of progress,” Farrell says.