University Avenue is open again along the UND campus. After nearly three months of construction, the road was reopened at 6 a.m. Friday.
Crews were still cleaning the road as of 8:30 a.m. and work still remains on the medians and other parts of the road, but it is open for traffic. The goal of the project has been to open before move-in weekend, which begins Saturday, Aug. 24.
The project is expected to cost around $12 million. Brian Larson, director of construction management, previously told the Herald the city will be special-assessing the university for a portion of the project costs.
Larson said people should be crossing at designated crosswalks, which have changed locations since construction began. He said he expects people to take a few days for everyone to adjust.
Memorial Union
Demolition also continues on Memorial Union.
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By Friday morning nearly the entire building had been demolished, with some more work still to go.
Demolition on the original Memorial Union, built in 1951, began at the end of July to make way for a new Memorial Union to be ready by 2021.
Construction will begin on a new Memorial Union in the coming weeks. Larson previously told the Herald that demolition crews will be tearing down the building with excavators and sorting out materials that can be recycled or thrown away. After the materials are extracted, the foundation will be removed and then filled.
Larson expects work will begin on the new building by September.
The $80 million project was approved by students late last year. The building is being paid for through student fees. Interim President Joshua Wynne asked for the project to be put on hold temporarily so he could assess what the debt load would be for students.
The main funding for the $80 million building will remain the same, with a majority of the project’s bond being paid for with increases to student fees. Those fees will be slightly reduced thanks to the additional contribution of $250,000 a year by the university. A potentially lower interest rate and the retirement of debt on the current Memorial Union could further reduce student fees in the future.
