Portion of Hospital Drive to Close Temporarily

A portion of Hospital Drive located between University and Veterans drives will experience periodic road closures through May to facilitate construction on Cooling Plant #1.

The first road closure is expected to begin on Monday, Jan. 31, and is expected to last two-weeks, weather permitting.  After the initial closure, Hospital Drive is expected to reopen for several weeks at a time between periods where construction will require additional closures. The University is committed to minimizing the impact of this construction and will continue to communicate future road closures as appropriate.

These periodic closures will affect access to the University Drive Garage (PS #1), VA Hospital patient/visitor access, and the Orange Route bus services in addition to delivery, service, and ambulance access to Chandler Hospital. Three ADA-accessible parking spaces in the vicinity of VA Hospital will be blocked to facilitate large truck and bus vehicular movements through this area. Sidewalks on the north and west sides of Cooling Plant #1 will also be closed for the duration of the project and pedestrian traffic will be redirected to other adjacent routes. 

During road closures, vehicular traffic traveling to and from Hospital Drive will be detoured around the construction site using Complex and Veterans drives. 

These periodic closures are necessary as contractors replace existing cooling towers at Cooling Plant #1; the towers and support structure have deteriorated to a point where the plant cannot achieve its rated capacity. Cooling Plant #1 is one of five that is integrated in a shared utility distribution system on campus. This means that any facility connected to the University’s system can be served by any of these plants. The new towers are expected to improve plant efficiency and reduce energy consumption. 

Please exercise caution and anticipate additional traffic congestion in this area and possible commuting delays during periods of road closure.