Steam Tunnel Upgrades
UPDATE: Section of Washington Street now to be closed through end of May
Section of Washington Street to close Monday through May 7
March 7, 2008
Beginning Monday, March 10 at 7 a.m., both lanes of Washington Street will be closed to all vehicle traffic between West Campus Drive and Spring Road until approximately May 7.
This closure will be 7 days a week and 24 hours a day.
Please see the map of the site for the detour route and additional details regarding the closure.
The roundabout will remain open and functional but one of the three legs (Washington Street) will be closed. Spring Road will remain open with traffic allowed to exit only heading east onto Washington Street. Pedestrian traffic will be allowed to use Washington Street but must observe the signs for re-routing of sidewalks due to the steam tunnel construction.
Additional handicap parking will be temporarily installed in the Coliseum Lot to address the spaces lost on Washington Street.
Blacksburg Transit routes, that use Washington Street, will be detoured to an alternate route with alternate bus stops. See the Blacksburg Transit website for more details at: www.btransit.org
The road will re-open temporarily for significant events on campus such as the Yankee’s baseball game on March 18 and the April 16 Remembrance Events.
The road closure is due to complications from the steam tunnel construction project along Washington Street. We recognize the inconvenient nature of this road closure but believe it will provide several important benefits to our campus to include improved safety adjacent to the construction site, predictable driving conditions, and a shorter construction schedule for the steam tunnel project.
If you have any questions please contact the construction project managers; Randy Morrison at 577-4904 or Bruce Ferguson at 231-3177.
Project Map: Year One
(577 kb PDF)
Power plant steam tunnel upgrade project to cause minor traffic interruptions on campus
Old Turner Street closed to through traffic, single lane access on Stanger Street
April 2007: Through the fall of 2008 the university's power plant steam distribution system will be upgraded, allowing for more capacity and creating a more efficient steam system on campus.
At McBryde Hall, Stanger Street will be restricted to single lane traffic from Monday, April 30 for approximately one week. From Wednesday May 23 through May 30 Stanger St. will be closed to through traffic.
Old Turner Street was closed on April 25 and will reopen in approximately eight weeks.
There will be detour signs and arrows directing pedestrians toward accessible crosswalks and sidewalks around the project site.
In addition to both pedestrian and vehicle rerouting, visible locations on campus will serve as staging areas for the construction company, resulting in supplies for the project being stored near the War Memorial Chapel, University Bookstore and Owens Dining Hall.
This project will be completed in two phases, primarily in times of warm weather when the power plant steam system is not being utilized. The project involves replacing the eight inch high pressure steam piping and condensate return piping to enable expansion on the southwest area of campus.
The majority of piping that will be replaced is in steam tunnels; however, a portion will be in a new box conduit system under the sidewalk along Washington Street. The new piping will increase the capacity of the existing steam distribution system.
Project updates will be posted here. For more information contact Randy Morrison at 540-577-4904.
Work Area Illustration