West Campus Landscape Project

A portion of UTMB's west campus closed for major landscaping and beautification projects in April 2007.

Construction Impact: Temporary pedestrian detours. Some noise and dust.

• Construction updates NEW INFO
• See a large map of the project (outdated; new map in development)
• See new sidewalks

• GNL Webcam
• Landscape Webcam 1
• Landscape Webcam 2

A major landscaping project will close portions of UTMB's west campus for approximately one year, starting in late April 2007 (Phases 1 and 2). The West Campus Landscape Project is part of the GNL effort, and serves to restore and upgrade areas disturbed during the construction phase. Read more...

In the last week of April, fences went up and demolition began during Phase 1 of the West End Landscape Project. It has been essential for pedestrians to have safe, clearly-marked routes around the area. Appropriate signage has been posted and updated, including large maps at major access points outlining pedestrian routes.

Phase 1 of this project ran from late April through December 2007. The next phase, which will focus on the southern half of campus, will run from approximately Jan-July 2008, following completion of Phase 1. Shutdown planning and coordination for the current work began in the last quarter of 2007.

Campus improvements associated with this project include:

• pedestrian walkways, with shade trees (oaks and palms) and outdoor seating
   
• more lighting to provide safety and continuity
   
• the brick color used in Old Red will be echoed in sidewalks for more visual continuity and cohesiveness for UTMB’s academic core, UHC, and Children’s Hospital.

Concept sketches for this project

Facilities Operations and Maintenance (FOAM) has been communicating and working with the organizations and groups affected by this project for several months. Some entrances of buildings surrounding the work area will be closed, and pedestrian traffic will be re-routed, but every building will maintain appropriate pedestrian ingress and egress.

• the safety fencing on the south side of the Lee Haige Jamail Student Center will be held back from the sidewalk for as long as possible (a few weeks), in order to preserve access to the student center
   
• emergency exits and closed entrances will be clearly marked
   
• FOAM is making every effort to minimize the impact of this project on campus activities

Some closures and detours will last through summer 2008. Please continue to exercise caution in these areas. Contact Project Manager Hyde Griffith at (409) 772-5394 with questions.

Thank you for your patience and support as we build a better UTMB.

The landscaping project will add benches
and shade to the western half of campus.
 

Tree-lined walkways will be of the same color
as the brick in the Ashbel Smith Building.

May 7: Clinical Sciences Building doors reopen
The west doors to the Clinical Sciences Building have reopened. They were closed as part of the landscape work on the west side of campus.

April 23: New route open, Clinical Sciences doors to close Saturday
 The West Campus Landscape project continues on schedule. A busy pedestrian route that had been closed has now opened--the north-south pathway between the Keiller and Basic Sciences buildings is once again safe for travel. It opened Wednesday. Work is now shifting to the east side of Keiller and the GNL, closer to the hospital complex. On Saturday morning, April 26, the west-facing doors to the Clinical Sciences Building will close for safety and dust control; they will be closed for approximately two weeks, through around May 12. Watch for signage posted throughout the area for detours and directions, and please exercise caution. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience.

March 5, 2008: Work shifts to new phase in West Campus Project; Basic Science Building entrance affected
Work will begin Monday, March 10, on the next phase of the West Campus Landscape project. This transition will mean a shift in pedestrian traffic as the area around the fountain on The Strand reopens and the area between the Basic Science Building and the GNL closes. This closing will block access to the east/ground floor entry to the Basic Science Building six weeks.
 
Employees needing to access the Basic Sciences Building should use the south set of stairs and gain access on the first floor of the building. New card readers have been added to this entryway and those with card access to the ground floor doors have access to the first-floor entrance.
 
ADA accessibility will temporarily be through the loading dock on the north side of the Basic Science Building during this phase of construction, and EMS access has been coordinated through the city to be permanently available at the loading dock. The north-south passage along the Clinical Science Building, east of the GNL, will remain open during this project to ease traffic across that side of campus. Watch for directional signage for pedestrian detours.

Dec. 19, 2007: West campus-area sidewalk closure planned during holidays 
Pedestrian access to the sidewalk near the Jamail Student Center--north of the circle drive on The Strand--will be temporarily closed beginning Dec. 26 for work associated with the West Campus Landscape Project. The closure has been scheduled at a time expected to cause minimal disruption and inconvenience for pedestrians. The sidewalk should reopen within two days. Thank you for your patience as improvements continue to be made to the UTMB campus.

Dec. 3, 2007: Changes ahead with next phase of West Campus Landscape Project
The next phase of the West Campus Landscape Project has begun at the fountain on Strand, and with it comes a new round of openings and closures. The construction area west of Children’s Hospital, east of the Moody Library, north of the 9th Street drop off, as well as the north-south walkway between Children’s and Clinical Sciences Building will open on Monday, Dec. 3.
 
The west entrance to Children’s Hospital remains closed as interior renovations from another project continue.  A previously closed area between Keiller, Galveston National Laboratory, Graves, and Basic Sciences Building is under construction around the existing fountain on Strand. This area is expected to be reopened in February 2008, when the area south of it, between the Basic Sciences Building and the Galveston National Laboratory will close. As part of the closure of the east ground level entrance to Basic Sciences Building (BSB), an alternate pedestrian and handicap accessible route will be temporarily established.  That route could be established in January in advance of the shutdown of the east ground level entrance to BSB.

PROJECT ARCHIVES

Sept. 18: West Campus Landscape Project details outlined
On Monday, Sept. 10, Facilities Operations and Maintenance (FOAM), reopened certain areas affected by the West Campus Landscape Project, and moved construction into some new locations. Some pedestrian paths have been reopened, and other paths have been altered. See a large map of the project.

Specifically, the front entrance and canopy of the University Hospital Clinics building, the area of campus north of the Keiller Building and the walkway running east-west to 11th Street has been reopened. Mary Moody Northen, the Lee Haige Jamail Student Center, the Ashbel Smith Building, the Graves Building and Keiller Building are easily accessible from this path. Signs are in place to direct pedestrians and wheelchair users to their destinations.

An area extending north from the 9th Street employee drop-off to the west entrance of Children’s Hospital has been closed for construction, and will remain so for three or four months. Patients and staff wishing to access Children's Hospital from the west side of campus must walk around construction, east on Market Street, and enter through the main entrance of John Sealy Hospital. This route is also accessible to wheelchair users.

The east side of the Moody Medical Library Plaza will soon be closed for construction. To ensure that the library remains accessible to wheelchair users, a new ramp has been erected near the 9th Street employee drop-off. The ramp leads up to the Moody Medical Library Plaza. Bike racks in the area have also been removed, but ample rack space is available on the east side of the library.

We appreciate your patience as work on this project continues, and we apologize for inconveniences caused by construction. Please exercise caution around construction. Question or comment? Contact Hyde Griffith at ext. 25394. See a large map of the project.

August 17: West Campus Landscape Project changes coming Sept. 10
On Monday, Sept. 10, Facilities Operations and Maintenance (FOAM), reopened certain areas affected by the West Campus Landscape Project, and moved construction into some new locations.

Some pedestrian paths have been reopened, and other paths have been altered. Specifically, the front entrance and canopy of the University Hospital Clinics building, the area of campus north of the Keiller Building and the walkway running east-west to 11th Street will be reopened. Mary Moody Northen, the Lee Haige Jamail Student Center, the Ashbel Smith Building, the Graves Building and Keiller Building are easily accessible from this path. Signs are in place to direct pedestrians and wheelchair users to their destinations.

In an another area of the project, an area extending from the 9th Street employee drop-off to the west entrance of Children’s Hospital has been closed. Patients and staff wishing to access Children's Hospital from the west side of campus must walk around construction, east on Market Street, and enter the main entrance of John Sealy Hospital. This route is also accessible to wheelchair users.

An area north of the Ninth Street employee drop-off  will soon be part of the construction zone,

Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project have been completed, and some areas in the northern part of the construction zone will be accessible again. Specifically, the front entrance and canopy of the University Hospital Clinics building, the area of campus north of the Keiller Building and the walkway running east-west to 11th Street will be reopened. This will make an important east-west route through the construction site accessible to pedestrians once again.

Construction in Phase 3 will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, and will entail the closing of an area extending from the 9th Street employee drop-off to the west entrance of Children’s Hospital. Appropriate signage is being posted. Vaughan Construction will dismantle the existing plywood canopy, and pedestrian traffic will be routed to the east exit of the hospital. The south doors of Children’s Hospital will be closed. By Tuesday, the west Children’s Hospital entrance will be completely closed to pedestrian traffic.

The north entrance of the Clinical Science Building will remain open, and may be used to access 11th Street. Because of construction site constraints, the path running north/south from the Keiller Building to the Clinical Science Building will no longer be open to everyday foot traffic. The path will only be used as an emergency exit from the Clinical Science Building to the north, toward the University Hospital Clinics building. Pedestrians wishing to travel north or south will have to go west and around the Medical Research Building, or east through the main hospital entrance.

We appreciate your patience as work on this project continues, and we apologize for inconveniences caused by construction. Please exercise caution around construction. Question or comment? Contact Hyde Griffith at ext. 25394. Watch construction taking place with the West Campus Landscape Project webcam.

Aug. 6: West Campus Landscape Project: FOAM works to restore walkways before the start of registration

 August 17 is an important day for UTMB; students return to campus and registration begins. The West Campus Landscape Project has temporarily claimed a large portion of the area in front of the Lee Hage Jamail Student Center and the Ashbel Smith Building (Old Red), as Facilities Operations and Maintenance (FOAM) restores and upgrades grounds disturbed by the construction.

FOAM has worked with the project contractor and student advocates to keep the east-west corridor that runs from Mary Moody Northen and 11th Street over to Old Red open as long as possible. In order to accommodate the August influx of students and other pedestrians, FOAM will close the walkways next week, in phases, and work to complete renovation of the corridor by August 17. The southern entrances to the Graves Building, Lee Hage Jamail Student Center and Old Red will remain open, but pedestrians may at times have to access them via the walkway south of Parking Garage 2. Please exercise caution as you traverse the area.

Additionally, FOAM will open the areas under the UHC canopy, the area east of the Keiller Building, and the area between the Keiller Building and Old Red, near University Hospital Clinics (UHC), over the course of the next month. At that point, pedestrians may once again use the northern entrance to the Keiller Building, and the current walkway leading leading to and from the south will be closed.

The next phase of construction will take in the area south from the Clinical Sciences Building entrance (under the bridge) toward the Children’s Hospital and down to the drop-off circle at 9th Street and Market. The western entrance to Children's Hospital will be closed in early September, and will reopen when work in this area is completed later this year.

Here is a sneak peek at the construction and design of some of the new sidewalks:

May 14, 2007: Access for clinical employees

Since the West Campus Landscape Project began, many after-hours faculty and staff who park in Garage 2 have found accessing the core hospital complex inconvenient. Facilities, Operations and Maintenance recognizes that inconvenience, and we apologize.

Before the project started, employees who park in Garage # 2 after-hours and weekends entered the hospital complex through the Clinical Sciences Building. Unfortunately, those employees have found that reaching the CSB entrance is now very inconvenient. The north entrance of the University Hospital Clinics building is nearby, but only open during normal business hours. (Those with properly-coded badges continue to have after-hours access through that entrance.)

The solution is to help after-hours employees find parking in a more conveniently placed location.

Employees who park in a UTMB facility can request after-hours access to parking garages that are more conveniently placed near an open entrance. This additional access is from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 a.m. weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends; it is free of charge. Contact Greta Earls in UTMB Parking Facilities, at ext. 772-4786, to request after-hours access to Garage 1 (Administration Building), Garage 2 (University Hospital Clinics), Garage 4 (School of Nursing), Garage 6 (Rebecca Sealy Hospital), or Garage 8 (University Plaza).

After-hours entrances include the main entrance to John Sealy Hospital, and the Trauma Center. As a reminder, the west entrance of the Clinical Sciences Building is open from 9:00 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. The Children's Hospital west entrance is open from 5:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., and the Waverly Smith Pavilion east entrance is open from 5:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.

Employees who choose to continue parking in Garage 2 after-hours and on weekends will have to travel around Mary Moody Northen Pavilion and the east end of the project site, traverse campus and enter through the construction tunnel at the east entrance to Children’s Hospital. The Clinical Sciences Building entrance is accessible from there, and should remain open during evening hours and weekends.

We apologize for the inconvenience this important project has caused. Please bear with us as we build a better UTMB. Contact Project Manager Hyde Griffith at (409) 772-5394 with questions.

May 2, 2007: Landscape project moves into "hard shutdown"

During the week of April 23, portions of west campus closed for approximately six months, for a major landscaping and beautification project. During the first week, the site was in a “soft shutdown” period, with activities such as erection of fencing, installation of signage, removal of site furnishings (bike racks, trash cans, planters, etc.) and other activities.

The site has moved into a “hard shutdown” during the last week of April. Pedestrians will need to follow the established routes. Although demolition has not yet begun, the hard shutdown will allow for several essential pre-demolition activities:

• To protect the local environment, storm water pollution protection plan (SWPPP) devices must be installed before surface disturbing activities begin. These devices are designed to prevent excessive runoff and silt from leaving the job site and loading local drainage systems or polluting the surrounding waters.

 
• A large number of buried utilities, including chilled water infrastructure, fuel oil systems, power, communication and drainage lines, must be located. The location effort began April 30, and may continue for several weeks. If these are not properly located, they could be damaged during demolition of the surface structures and interrupt services to nearby buildings.
   
• As the local lighting circuits are terminated before demolition, the site will become darker and could present tripping hazards. Supplemental lighting for zones and walkways just outside the construction area are being installed. Pedestrians traversing the area are reminded to be cautious and pay attention to signage. Areas inside the site boundaries will not receive additional lighting.

The construction fence south of the Graves Building and the Student Center is currently “pulled back” to allow pedestrians to walk to as far as the Ashbel Smith Building (Old Red). This will afford some convenience for pedestrians for several weeks, but it is a temporary provision. When the demolition inside the fence area has been maximized, this fence will be moved up to match the published shutdown zone so that further demolition of the existing sidewalk can proceed.

To help remedy some of the inconvenience being experienced during Phase 1 of the project, fifty (50) bike racks will be relocated or added to areas around the site. Racks will be installed east and south of the Keiller Building under the covered walkway, west and north of Mary Moody Northen, and west of the Moody Medical Library.

The area between 11th Street and the construction boundary marked “authorized vehicles only” is reserved for the staging of trucks into the construction site and for staging of deliveries to and from the Medical Research Building and Basic Science Building. Unattended, unauthorized vehicles will be subject to ticketing and/or towing.

Vehicles needed by construction personnel are parked in a fenced area north of the Keiller Building, and will remain inside the construction boundary as the project progresses.

* Please remember that construction timetables are subject to variables such as weather. The university and its contractors are always motivated to complete projects quickly, safely, properly and with minimal disruption. We always appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to build a better UTMB.