Summer will soon be here, and that means construction season will kick off again, featuring three capital projects, a renovation, several medium-sized projects, as well as hundreds of maintenance, repairs and infrastructure upgrade projects already underway across campus.
Mindful of the potential impact to customers on campus, Facilities Management is highlighting some of the summer initiatives:
- The new 100,000-square-foot Engineering building, ThreeC+, will connect to the Spencer Engineering Building and Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory, along Western Road. With tight construction boundaries and limited access through Alumni Hall and Thompson Engineering Building parking lot, many of the material deliveries are expected to arrive on a northbound lane of Western Road. To mitigate the impact, traffic will continue to flow through intermittent lane shifts at select times throughout the summer.
- The Western Interdisciplinary Research Building is a multi-use seven-storey building, housing the Research Cluster for Cognitive Neuroscience and Rotman Institute of Philosophy along Perth Drive. The glass-clad facility resides on the Visual Arts Parking Lot and may see occasional single lane closures throughout the summer.
- The second phase of the Music Building project includes the removal of an older section of the building and end cap. The adjacent pathways to the west of the building are closed and pedestrians are being diverted to the surrounding walkways. Throughout the duration of the project, parking spaces to the south of the building are temporarily out of service. Sections of Lambton Drive may be subject to brief, intermittent lane closures during material deliveries.
- A renovation to update approximately 117,534 square feet of University College will revitalize Western’s most iconic and photogenic facility. Although the character and prestige of the building will remain, enhancements will be made to electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems. Most of the work is confined to the interior of the building and interruptions to the surrounding area will be minimal.
- Several pedestrian and active transport-friendly initiatives are slated for this summer. For example, three exterior lighting projects will brighten up the night sky on campus. Facilities Management is targeting a stretch along Lambton Drive, the Alumni/Thompson corridor, and an area around Elborn College. A further initiative will include line painting along roadways and pedestrian paths designed to freshen up faded markings.
- A new parking gate will be added to the Ivey Business School parking lot, following the final day of exams. The associated civil work and gate installation will have a moderate impact on the south side of the building, but will not affect the vehicle routes or parking in the adjacent Elborn lot.
- The City of London will be wrapping up the water main replacement project that finished last year by restoring the site. Minor interruptions to the Huron Flats parking lot entrance may occur as the contractor works to repair nearby aspects of the built and natural environment.
Except for the large new construction and renovation projects, most of the summer initiatives are expected to be complete prior to the start of the new academic year.
Facilities Management will keep the campus community informed via a dedicated Summer Construction web page, uwo.ca/fm. The page will track the progress of the projects listed above and include new projects that may arise following this publication. Users can click through the page to learn of project details and upcoming service interruptions. Followers will also be notified through Twitter, @westernuFM.
