The Union Loop is toast.
It may seem to some at the U that construction is especially heavy this summer.
Each year during the summer, Campus Design and Construction repairs the roads and parking lots. Last year, there were no road or parking lot repairs due to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
Because of the Games, Campus Design and Construction couldn’t plan for the construction during summer in 2002.
“We didn’t know how much damage [to the roads] there would be,” said David Moyes, construction coordinator of Commuter Services.
This year the construction is one of the busiest the U will ever have, he said. “This is two years’ worth of construction. We probably won’t see this again.”
The U has been asking for funds for construction from the Utah State Legislature for several years.
“They came through all at once,” Moyes said.
This year, construction dollars have gone further than in previous years.
According to a recent statement, “A very positive bidding climate has allowed us to stretch our limited dollars more than we had anticipated.”
Campus Design is undertaking 15 projects to update and repair the roads this summer.
“We try to do something with the roads and parking lots every five years,” said Joe Harman, Manager of Engineering Service at Campus Design in a recent interview.
Often, the cracks in the asphalt can be sealed rather than the asphalt having to be replaced, increasing the road’s life. The cracks in the roads allow water to enter and therefore need to be sealed. Water is the number one factor that damages roads.
“It washes away the oil and things that hold the asphalt together,” Moyes said.
In the case of the Union Loop, the rock base was failing, causing sinking and holes in the road.
“The asphalt is really just a coating; it doesn’t support any weight,” Moyes said.
The life of a road is determined by a number of factors including traffic and the weight of the vehicles that use it.
Moyes said the Union Loop wasn’t designed to handle the traffic and weight that it has.
Of the 15 projects planned this summer, two are already finished-Parking Lot 54, Row 4 (west of the U Hospital) and the Hospital Emergency Fire Lane widening project.
The Union Loop was scheduled to be finished on June 15, but water damage delayed its completion.
There are currently 10 projects under construction: the Union Loop, scheduled to be finished this week; 1480 East on June 22; the Law Library parking lot on July 7; the Ballif Road Reconstruction on July 17; Parking Lot 31 (HEDCO) on July 11; 1400 East on June 27; Central Campus Drive Repair on July 11; Business Loop Reconstruction on July 27; Parking Lot 4 Drive Lane Replacement on July 9; and Parking Lot 1 Reconstruction on Aug. 18.
Parking Lot 39 repair, Health Sciences Center Loop Road Replacement and 1925 East Reconstruction are projects scheduled to be started on July 2, Aug. 19 and Aug. 30 and finished Aug. 18, Sept. 17 and Sept. 20, respectively.