Faculty and staff who normally park in the Thayer Street structure were surprised this fall to find it still closed due to major renovation work.
In the past couple of years, the structure was closed during the summer but reopened in September.
Susan A. Kirkpatrick, manager of University Parking Services, says the University decided to complete the renovation work this year based on cost-savings and the fact that completion would put the 443-space structure in service year-round two years early.
Under the original plan—doing work on one level each summer plus the ramps during one summer—renovations would not be completed for another two years, according to John Neault, chief civil engineer, Planning and Design. “An outside consultant advised that completion of the work was achievable if the deadline were extended to Dec. 1, and that such an approach would save money,” Neault explains.
Cost of the entire project is $1.89 million, which includes both testing and construction. The speed-up resulted in a $250,000 savings.
Neault says deterioration of the concrete driving surface on the final three levels required replacement of four inches of concrete and steel with new steel and a material that resists water. “That combination will put the structure in good shape for a number of years,” Neault says.
Neault also has good news for those who work near the structure. The jack hammer noise has ceased, with only “normal construction noise” remaining.
Kirkpatrick estimates that the structure will reopen Jan. 1, 1993.
