Summer construction happens all over Utah and the Weber State University campuses are no exception, but now this construction work has dragged into fall.
Due to the unexpected stormy weather this past summer, the construction of parking lots on both the Davis and the Ogden Weber State campuses is still being finished up.
The parking lots in front of D2 and the high school portables (occupied by NUAMES early college students) were blocked off to be repaired. In the meantime, patrons have been asked to park on the far east side of campus.
The last time any work was done on this area of the lot was during the initial construction of the first Davis campus building, D2, according to project manager Chad Downs of facilities management at Weber State.
The Davis campus parking lot repairs are scheduled to be completed by Sept. 12, lasting over a month from the start date in early August.
Construction did not commence earlier than August because the funding was not awarded until spring. Once this was completed, designers had to be hired and the contract put out to bid.
Downs explains that the construction was intended to be completed by the time school started, but the schedule was set back due to multiple weather issues.
The construction teams had to work weekends and nights to pump water out of the areas. Some structural damage was caused by the weather creating wet soil underneath the parking lots, along with wear and tear due to heavy driving over the years.
After working with asphalt, new striping will be done in the parking lot. The local police are looking to put more yield and stop stripes and also changing the speed limit signs. Faster speeds will be allowed on the ring road, but slower speeds will be enforced within the lot itself.
The actual construction of the parking lot is expected to be done by Sept. 8, but the modifications of signs and adding of stripes will extend beyond that. The ring road may also take a little longer.
A concrete bus pad will be added so UTA and campus buses will have a place to wait. The bus stop was relocated about 100 feet west of the original, because the old one was in the D2 parking lot.
“In the future, there will be a ring road that will continue to the north side (of campus) so you’ll have a complete loop road around,” Downs said, referencing the master plan. However, that will have to wait until a few more Davis campus buildings have been constructed.
As far as complaints go, Weber State University says they haven’t received very many.
Amanda Jo Rickards, a Weber State early college student, doesn’t like having to park far from the buildings.
“I’m not late because I leave early, but I don’t like the walking,” Rickards said.
Weber State’s Vice Provost and Dean of Continuing Education, Bruce Davis, mentioned the surrounding businesses have noticed students parking in their lots.
“If a student ever feels unsafe, maybe walking out to their car at night, we have police officers here in the evening. All they have to do is stop by the office and an officer will walk them to their car,” Davis said.
The Davis campus police office is located in D3 on the first floor.
