UNM students will have to endure the closure of Redondo Drive at the crosswalk north of the UNM Bookstore for a few more weeks after a broken water pipe caused a slight delay in construction.
The utility trench work was delayed during the semester break when a 10-inch water pipe was broken Jan. 3, during the construction of a concrete tunnel that will house utility lines.
Clovis Acosta, director of UNM Parking and Transportation Services, said the delay caused by the broken pipe was less than a week and that workers from Gerald Martin, the company handling the trench work, have nearly caught up to their original schedule.
The trench utility project, which started Dec. 16, will service the new parking garage under construction and the future School of Architecture and Planning that will be built directly across Redondo Drive after the new garage is completed.
Acosta was not able to specifically identify the reason for the break, but did say that the contractor did not directly cause it.
"The excavator did not touch it," Acosta said.
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The crosswalk is still open to pedestrian traffic, although greatly reduced in diameter, but Redondo will remain closed through the duration of the trench work.
Acosta said the only University shuttle service that will be affected is the Redondo Loop bus, which will use Central Avenue as a detour.
The crosswalk work is only a portion of the trench work that will continue in the area throughout the semester. Utility trenches will extend from the crosswalk toward the SUB.
According to an e-mail, written by Sabra Basler, transportation information and project facilitator, trench work between the SUB tent and Ortega Hall should be completed before classes begin and Casitas will reopen Jan. 21.
