This fall semester students, faculty and all visitors to the University of Massachusetts Boston campus will find construction crews starting work on the Utility Corridor and Roadway Relocation Project (UCRRP), which will cause significant changes to their commute. Steve Martinson, of Parking and Transportation, has a simple message for these fast approaching inconveniences; “Allow for more time.”
The aim of the UCRRP is to establish a new utility corridor to support future buildings and provide reliable and redundant utility services to the entire campus and a new two-way roadway that will provide various amenities including bike lanes, tree lawns, and sidewalks throughout the campus.
In preparation, the university’s South Lot will close permanently; it will be used as a staging for construction and a place to put the soil the crews excavate. Additionally, Lot A and C will permanently close around the end of September.
The university is strongly urging commuters to either make use of the public transportation offered at the Red line JFK/UMASS station, or use the Bayside Lot as their primary choices. More shuttle buses will run frequently from JFK/UMASS station and the 1300-space Bayside Lot this fall than previous semesters. Commuters should except the remaining campus lots to fill up around 9:30 a.m.
Electronic signage will alert commuters on Morrisey Boulevard and Mt. Vernon Street of the campus lots’ vacancy (or lack thereof) and direct them accordingly to the Bayside lot. A new building is to be expected on each existing campus parking lot, including student residences and above-ground garages.
As part of the UCRR project, UMass Boston’s existing Central Utility Plant will also be upgraded to ensure the integrity of utility systems. This includes the electricity, water, heating and cooling, and IT connectivity for existing and new facilities, like the new General Academic Building No. 1. The utilities will be placed under the new-two-way road system. An 80-foot wide trench will be dug to start to process.
Utilities are combined with the Massachusetts Archives and the JFK Library buildings. “[We are] making best use of our land and neighbors”, stated Holly Sutherland, Manager of Master Plan and Construction Communications at the university.
The project is targeting environmental problems, and with the new garages and roads it aims to catch cars before they arrive on the peninsula to provide a friendlier pedestrian and bicycle-oriented campus. UMass Boston’s waterfront is also further protected by these developments with bio-retention sites for run-off from construction.
The project is being designed by BVH Integrated Services, Inc. and built by Bond Brothers. The project is funded by the UMass Building Authority.