MAILED: Oct. 19, 2001
EAU CLAIRE — Putnam Park Drive
will temporarily be closed to vehicular traffic beginning Monday, Oct. 22, as
the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s long-planned water main project gets
under way.
The road will be closed until the construction project
— which is needed to ensure fire safety on campus — is completed in late
November or early December.
“Several years ago, the Eau Claire Fire Department
notified UW-Eau Claire officials that there was not enough water flow and
pressure on lower campus to fight fires, particularly near the Phillips Science
building,” said Andrew Soll, vice chancellor for business and student
services. “That problem can be solved by installing an extra connection to the
lower campus distribution system from the city water distribution system.”
The project will be confined to the roadway in Putnam
Park Drive, so there will be minimal impact on trees and other vegetation, Soll
said, adding that the Putnam Park Commission — a group that includes
representatives from UW-Eau Claire, the Eau Claire City Council and the
community at large — carefully reviewed the project throughout its
development.
University and city officials reviewed a number of
options for making the connection but determined none was as efficient as
installing the water main along Putnam Park Drive, Soll said, noting that
alternate routes would have involved developed streets and properties.
The $196,370 construction project includes installing
about 1,200 lineal feet of 12-inch water main from State Street to the UW-Eau
Claire water distribution system near the School of Nursing Building on lower
campus. A-1 Excavating of Bloomer is the project contractor.
-30-
JB
[Administrative Offices]
[News Bureau]
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
Updated: Oct. 19, 2001
|
