With the conclusion of the spring school semester, the construction season at the University of Minnesota is officially underway! The reconstruction of North Church Street broke ground this week, and will be completed in time for students to return to campus this fall. The project involves rebuilding nearly two city blocks of shared use plaza between Washington Avenue and the Church Street Parking Garage.The plaza at the center of campus serves primarily as a pedestrian and bicycle thoroughfare, but also sees daily delivery vehicles to buildings along the corridor.
Loeffler Construction & Consulting has been part of the project team since the early design phases as a cost consultant to the team lead by HTPO, and is now serving as the construction manager for the project through completion.Unique aspects of this project include boring of a deep sanitary sewer line, integrating the design of the center Scholars Walk block which is owned by a separate entity, and sequencing construction for only north access, to avoid affecting light rail traffic to the south.