One of the main facilities projects overtaking the campus since this past summer involved both a significant realignment of nearby roads, as well as extensive construction planning.
Before work on the $70 million project to build a new School of Veterinary Medicine building at 38th Street and Baltimore Avenue could begin, construction was required on the intersection of Baltimore and Woodland avenues and 38th Street.
Reconstructing the roads system at the site not only accommodates the addition of a new building, but also improved the safety of the intersection.
Formerly, there was a triangle of city-owned land blocked off by Baltimore Avenue to the north, 38th Street to the west and Woodland Avenue to the east. The University, in collaboration with the city, decided to close off the Baltimore Avenue segment of the intersection and use the now-connected land as a site for a new Veterinary Medicine building.
"Previously, it was difficult to navigate through the intersection because of hard sight lines and other issues with traffic engineering," said Mark Wilson, managing director of facilities design and construction, adding, "And the city was willing to give us the land in order to improve the safety of the intersection."
All intersections are graded by the city in terms of safety on a scale from A to F, and formerly that particular roadway had a failing mark. However, after construction was completed this past August, the intersection received a more acceptable grade, according to Wilson.
In addition, the University --which paid for the entire construction project -- worked with the Veterans Health Administration to not only reconfigure the entrance and parking area, but also to install an audible signal for the handicapped at the walkway entrance on the intersection.
After the intersection was completed and the formerly unused triangle of land became attached to the property on 38th and Baltimore, work on the new Veterinary Medicine building began.
Construction on the 120,000-square-foot building, which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2006, is budgeted at $70.7 million. The new building will house four floors, the first of which will be home to two new auditoriums that will be used for lecture purposes. Each of these rooms will seat approximately 132 people, including handicapped seats.
Wilson added, "This number may grow due to the selection of seats and the arrangement used during construction."
In addition, each row of seats will have an accompanying bench, rather than have individual desks.
The second floor of the new building will house a library and several seminar and conference rooms. The top two floors will have research laboratories, and the fourth floor will be leased out to the School of Medicine.
"When two commonalities like the Veterinary School and the School of Medicine work together like this, lots of positive things come out of it," Wilson said.
