Parking and Transportation Services held and open house for the Tyndall Avenue Improvement Project, which will reconstruct the roadway between University Boulevard and Sixth Street to better accommodate vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

The project, which will begin construction on April 18, is projected to take up to four months to complete and will widen and re-pave the road, add crosswalks, a bike path, curbs to the sidewalks and new landscaping on Tyndall Avenue between University Boulevard and Sixth Street.

Joe Chase, field engineering project manager of the Tyndall Avenue Improvement Project, said that “”all heavy work”” will take place after the semester ends, and that access to all local businesses and to UA facilities will not be impeded, with the exception of Tyndall Avenue Parking Garage, which will only be accessible off Euclid Avenue.   

Some of the open house attendees had concerns about construction noise, and although Chase said that he and his team would notify surrounding businesses and housing developments when concrete would be poured before its planned 7 a.m. start time, construction can be noisy and they “”can’t do much about that.””

Amanda Brobbel, the coordinator of graduate and international student housing, said that there was a lot of construction last year around the La Aldea graduate housing complex and it “”really impeded”” at the end of May before graduate students moved out.

She explained that they had to open a back gate that opened out to the street, which was a fire hazard.

“”It’s not OK,”” she said. “”These are apartments, not dorms, and the students have furniture.””

She added that although they “”worked it out”” in the end, she had to address construction problems more than once.

Bruce Billings, the president of the Campus Christian Center, said that the project was “”long overdue,”” although he expressed concern that the project would not be addressing the alleys.

He gave an example of the alley behind the Louise F. Marshall building, saying it was a “”horrible mess”” and that it needs to be “”totally redone.””

Construction will occur every Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with occasional night and weekend construction. Once the existing roadway pavement has been removed, vehicular traffic will be restricted to one-way travel in a single lane.

The project will cost $452,742.50, according to the City of Tucson Department of Transportation. The funding for the project “”just now became available,”” according to Chase, and the idea of the project has “”been in the works for eight years.”” The funding comes from a transportation enhancement grant using stimulus funds.