Between Nov. 18 and Nov. 30, all lanes on Columbia Street between Hagey Boulevard and Phillip Street were closed due to construction that was a part of the north campus upgrades projects. 

The construction was to replace medium voltage infrastructure which runs at 13,800 volts. This kind of voltage is what runs through the whole of campus.

Usually, construction like this does not cause traffic disturbance as a tunnel system is often used under campus to complete upgrades like these, however, this construction needed to take place outside of Ring Roazd and the tunnel system could not be used.

According to Rob Hunsberger, the Senior Director of planning, design and construction with plan operations here at UW, attempts were made to avoid shutting the whole street down and still allow some lanes to be accessible to traffic, however, due to the nature of the construction, the city decided all lanes of Columbia Street had to be closed. 

This north campus upgrade construction coincided with the ongoing renovation of the Eye Institute. The first installment of the Eye Institute building was created in the 1970’s and the wiring used is now older and outdated. The incorporation of the new electrical wiring system was coordinated to be included in the Eye Institute renovation. 

This coordination helped with the Eye Institute’s goal of not increasing the total carbon footprint of the whole complex. To ensure this, more electricity needed to be supplied to the building so that they would not have to rely heavily on fossil fuels and run primarily on the new electrical infrastructure.  

Hunsberger mentioned how one concern with this type of construction at this time of year is the winter weather. Excessive amounts of snow can prolong construction deadlines, however, despite the snow from the end of last week, construction wrapped up successfully last weekend. 

Construction involving asphalt will usually take place earlier in the year to avoid this type of weather however due to the warmer season being extended this year, asphalt plants have been staying open later in the year than usual, allowing for construction to keep going into the later months all over the city.

Future goals that are a part of the plans to upgrade the campus include eventually decarbonizing the school’s grid. This means that UW will be aiming to move away from the use of fossil fuels and rely more on electrical infrastructure. Currently, there is not enough power for the whole campus to rely solely on electrical infrastructure, however, there have been multiple construction projects over the last few months, including the recent construction on Columbia Street, that were done to help reach the goal of the electrification of campus.