U. workers begin 37th Street construction; to end by April

Construction crews have begun work to transform 37th Street between Locust Walk and Spruce Steet into a brick and stone pedestrian walkway by the end of April. The $2.1 million project, partially funded by the Class of 1962, is the final phase in the University's construction of the Wharton Quad, which is located on 37th Street between Lauder-Fischer and Vance Halls. Arthur Gravina, the University's vice president for facilities management, said yesterday the project will also include the construction of a new service drive running from Spruce Street almost up to the back of Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. He said the service drive, which will cut about a 15-foot wide strip just to the east of 37th Street, is necessary for trucks to make deliveries to area buildings and will not restrict access either to the nearby SEPTA station or the park area between the Wistar Institute and Steinberg-Dietrich. Gravina said the extension of the walk itself will cost just over $1 million and will feature bricks and stone, but in a pattern different from that of Locust Walk. Although no other extensions are currently planned, Gravina said that 37th Street to the north of Locust Walk would probably become a pedestrian walk after the campus center is built and that 36th Street at Spruce Street could also be changed sometime in the future. The start of construction has forced a long-time fruit vendor at the University, known to students as Al the Fruit Man, to look for another place to open shop. Gravina said last year that the University would try to work with other vendors like Al so that as many vendors as possible are able to continue selling their products. But it is not clear whether the University has actively pursued an agreement with any vendor. One Walk denizen sure to be relocated is the statue of Ben Franklin sitting in the bench. Gravina said that while the statue may be fenced inside the construction site for the time being, it will be permanently placed in a "little alcove" just beyond the Walk after the construction is finished in the spring. "He's valuable to us and we want to protect him," he said.

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