By An emergency project has shut down part of the West Campus turnaround until Saturday because of large potholes caused by rain storms from last week.
“The rain got underneath the already aging concrete and made what we call the sub-grade, which is the soil underneath the concrete, fail,” Mark Zakhour, Senior Manager of Construction Services, said. “So when traffic drove over certain areas, it caused the concrete to crack and move.”
It will cost about $75,000 to replace approximately 2000 square feet of damaged concrete in the area, he said. One lane in each direction of traffic is shut down for the repairs.
According to Zakhour, the drainage system in the area works, but the concrete was just old.
He estimated that the concrete at the turnaround is more than 30 years old and said they are looking to replace the entire area next summer, but are replacing the spots that pose a hazard now.
The project started on Tuesday and should be completed by Saturday before classes resume on Monday.
“We’re doing it as an emergency project, so we’re doing our absolute very best,” Zakhour said. “We do have a lot of rain coming, so I can’t guarantee it’s going to get done, but we’re going to try our hardest … Right now we’re looking to have the concrete poured before the storm hits on Friday. If that’s the case, we’ll be done on time.”
The hazards were caught before they could cause any damage to vehicles or pedestrians. Zakhour said that his department is also monitoring other areas on campus that may have gotten damaged by the rain.
