The $4.1 million North Grounds Connector, initially scheduled to open in June, will open to the public this January, according to Richard B. Laurance, project director for the John Paul Jones Arena.
Construction for the road, which connects Massie Road and the U.S. 250 bypass, began in March 2005.
Laurance cited a number of factors that allowed for early completion of the project, the first of which was a need to finish a major intersection in Massie Road before students returned to the University to begin the fall semester.
"We shut down Massie Road entirely as soon as the students left in May, and we had to make a critical deadline of August 20th to get the major intersection accomplished," Laurance said. "The contractor put extra people on the job, worked extensive hours six and seven days a week, and out of engineering necessity, had to do a lot more than was originally planned just to get that intersection up and running for students on August 20th. This alone put them way ahead of schedule."
While Laurance also cited good weather as a factor, he said Faulkner Construction of Charlottesville and the construction manager, Barton-Malow Inc., deserve credit for the project's early completion.
Barton-Malow has "done all the scheduling at the North Grounds Connector and at the Arena site," Laurance said. "They are the ones that deserve the credit."
Barton-Malow Project Manager Kevin McMichael said he agreed that both good weather and the need to complete the Massie Road intersection before the start of classes contributed to the company's success in finishing the project early.
"The biggest challenges were the underground utilities, a tremendous amount that either weren't marked or weren't located," and the Massie Road intersection, McMichael said.
McMichael cited an opportunity for earlier access to the connector as an advantage of completing the project ahead of schedule.
"The road can be used by the public prior to the opening of the arena," McMichael said, adding that "You can almost simulate what it's like using a road to get to the basketball games during the season."
Laurance said he agreed that "the University can use it for some of the basketball games in the January/February time frame just to see how the flow of traffic goes."
The $128.9 million John Paul Jones Arena is still set to open in June, according to Laurance.
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