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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: March 21, 2011
Amelia Pavlik
Communications & Marketing
404-385-4142
Summary Sentence:
No summary sentence submitted.Full Summary:
As the campus footprint grows, Georgia Tech planners realize North Avenue is no longer a boundary for campus but rather a road bisecting it. Over spring break, construction crews began to improve both the safety and aesthetics of the streetscape.
North Avenue Construction MapAs the campus footprint grows, Georgia Tech planners realize North Avenue is no longer a boundary for campus but rather a road bisecting it. Over spring break, construction crews began to improve both the safety and aesthetics of the streetscape.
The project is part of a larger vision to transform the North Avenue corridor between the interstate and the Coca-Cola complex, featuring wider sidewalks, better lighting and underground utilities.
According to David Bowman, the project’s lead architect, the plan is to open up some of the spaces adjacent to North Avenue — Tech Tower lawn, for example — part of a greater effort to connect the street to campus.
“When we’re finished, the community will have 10-foot wide sidewalks on both sides of the street, as well as a buffer zone from vehicular traffic where we will place trees and streetlights,” Bowman said.
Georgia Tech will also install a pedestrian-activated traffic signal for safer street crossing. This type of signal, known as a HAWK beacon, is a relatively new solution that is gaining wider use among traffic engineers across the country.
But improvements will not come without some inconvenience. The project will occur in four phases, starting at the Wardlaw Center and moving westward along North Avenue. The first phase includes the demolition and reconstruction of the Wardlaw front stairs, as well as landscaping along the front of the building and work to address waterproofing issues along the building’s walkways and exterior brick walls.
During this phase, which is expected to last two months, pedestrian traffic will be rerouted. Expected completion for the entire project is November, which is dependent on timely permitting by Georgia Department of Transportation.
