Busy infrastructure season underway

Posted: July 28, 2015 6:00 a.m.

Construction and infrastructure improvements are underway across campus.
Construction and infrastructure improvements are underway across campus. Photo by Trevor Hopkin, U of R Photography

If you notice more construction and traffic re-routes than usual on campus, you’re not imagining it. The University is in the middle of several infrastructure projects on and around our roadways, sidewalks, parking lots and buildings. This is in addition to the North Gateway Improvement Project and six other projects to improve wayfinding and pedestrian safety, and create a more welcoming and user-friendly campus.

“This is one of the busiest infrastructure and construction seasons that we’ve had in terms of its effect on traffic flow and pedestrians,” said Nelson Wagner, Associate Vice-President of Facilities Management. “We appreciate the patience of our campus community and visitors as we complete these projects and improve services for everyone on our campus.”

Some of the activity underway is being driven by the August completion of the new Residence. The building also includes underground parking and a new daycare, all of which will open in the fall. With the opening of the new daycare space, there will also be major renovations to the existing daycare. Those renovations begin in August and are set for completion in March 2016. During that time, Wascana Daycare will be temporarily located at First Nations University.

Other work in the vicinity of the new Residence includes reconfiguring Lot 2 to create new visitor parking and allow for relocation of some permit parking from Lot 1. This work will be completed by October and will enable the addition of more short-term and daily parking, a major need for this part of the campus.  It also allows for the development of 15 accessible plug-in parking stalls in Lot 1. Grouping accessible parking is more efficient due to their increased snow removal requirements. In addition, this project will also create more parking for the new Residence building occupants in Lot 3 and 4 by moving short-term parking from those areas into Lot 2.

Alongside the new Residence, the road south of the Language Institute and past the North Residence is being redeveloped to improve pedestrian safety. That work will be completed in August. As well street-side parking and a new bus shelter will be added to the north portion of University Drive East to better serve First Nations University, to be completed by November 2015. During that same period, the entrances to Parking Lots 13 and 17 will also be resurfaced.

To the south of the new Residence, a project involving both Campion College and the University of Regina will see the addition of a new front entryway and external stairwell for the College, as well as an underground pedestrian corridor and service tunnel connecting the Campion entryway and the new residence. The pedestrian corridor and service tunnel will be completed by January 2016 with entryway and roadwork occurring in spring 2016.

"The Campion College Building Enhancement Project is designed to improve accessibility into and within Campion, and is the largest renovation project undertaken by the College since it was built in 1967. Working together with the Facilities Management team at the University of Regina, we were able to make further enhancements with the addition of the underground pedestrian corridor and service tunnel,” says James Gustafson, executive director of administration and finance at Campion College.

Four projects running later into the fall include the Language Institute roof replacement, to be completed by spring 2016, plus landscaping between July and October in the following three areas:

  • the courtyard south of the Classroom Building and east of the Lab Building;

  • the areas north of the RIC building loading dock and south of the Classroom Building bus shelter; and,

  • the courtyard between the existing Daycare and College West.

In 2015-16 the University will be investing more than $4.7 million in these infrastructure projects, including $2 million for the underground pedestrian corridor and service tunnel between the new Residence and Campion College. More details about all infrastructure and wayfinding projects can be found on the Facilities Management website.