Eye On U
Stadium site contaminated soil removal in progress
Removal and cleanup of contaminated soil at the campus football stadium construction site began in July, University Relations Director Jan Morlock reported. Removal will be completed in August.
The contaminated soil is associated with the former Republic Creosoting facility. The cleanup will be completed under a Response Action Plan approved by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in February. The soil is being trucked to a facility in the south metro area, where it will be thermally treated to remove contaminants and then sent to a state-licensed landfill.
Security fencing has been placed around the contaminated soil site. Trucks removing the soil are using I-94 via Huron Blvd. The university’s environmental consultant is monitoring air and safety-related activities during the work.
For updated stadium construction news, see www.umn.edu/stadium or contact Brian Swanson, stadium project coordinator at 612-625-6665 or bswanson@umn.edu.
I-35 work impacts traffic
A report from the university alerted motorists to closures on I-35 between I-94 and Stinson Boulevard. The Minnesota Department of Transportation is conducting bridge repair and pavement rehabilitation. The work is scheduled to be completed in late September. For more information, see: www.mndot.gov.
Free State Fair park and ride sites limited; discount tickets offered
Free parking and buses from the Minneapolis campus to the Minnesota State Fair, Aug. 23–Sept. 3, are limited this year due to the construction of the Gophers football stadium, Metro Transit reports.
Fair parking will be available at the Fourth Street Ramp, daily, 7:30 a.m.–midnight. Fair parking will also be available at the Oak Street Ramp, weekdays from 4 p.m. to midnight and Aug. 25–26 from 7:30 a.m. to midnight. There is no service Sept. 1–3. Fair parking will be available at various surface lots. Look for signs for directions.
The Gopher 1 lot at the northwest corner of the stadium site will be completed by Aug. 1 and open to the public for State Fair parking. In addition, free parking and buses will also be offered by Metro Transit at HealthPartners at Como Avenue and Highway 280.
Regular fare will be charged on MTC route 960 nonstop between Nicollet Mall and the fairgrounds. It will operate every 15 minutes between 8 a.m. and midnight. The regular Route 3 bus travels on Como Avenue, serving the university and Dinkytown. It will stop at Gate #9 at the fair.
Discount State Fair tickets are available at Coffman Union and the West Bank Skyway. For information, see: www.coffman.umn.edu/info/seasonal.php.
On-campus football stadium construction starts, fundraising continues
University officials and construction company M.A. Mortenson Company representatives met July 11 at the future site of the on-campus Gopher football TCF Bank Stadium to mark the official start of construction. They also introduced a stadium logo. The 50,000-seat stadium is expected to be completed and host its first game in August 2009.
The $288.5 million stadium is being funded through state funds, student fees, athletics revenues, private contributions and sponsorships, including the naming rights agreement with TCF Bank. A university news release reported that $58.5 million in private pledges had been raised, with $28 million remaining.
Campus parking rates increased; services award received
Parking rates at public Twin Cities campus lots were increased by 25 cents on July 1, according to a university announcement. Contract parking rates will increase beginning Oct. 1.
Coincidently, the university’s Parking and Transportation Services was named the 2007 International Parking Organization of the Year. It is awarded to the organization that best exemplifies excellence in overall parking operations. This year’s award is shared with the city of Houston.
Sherlock Holmes’ famous room on exhibit
A special exhibit at the Elmer L. Andersen Library, West Bank campus, features a full-scale and a miniature version of Sherlock Holmes’ famous sitting room at 221B Baker Street, London. The exhibit includes recently acquired letters written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Free and open to the public through Aug. 20. For more information, visit http://
andersen.lib.umn.edu/exhibits
andersen.lib.umn.edu/exhibits.
What LRT might look like on campus
The university announced online access to its design concepts for stations and operation of the planned Central Corridor Light Rail Transit Line on campus. The Metropolitan Council will determine the final design. To see the university design concepts, go to www1.umn.edu/pts/graphics and click on the U of M LRT design link.
Southeast resident recognized as student leader
Susan Rashid, who lives in Stadium Village, was recognized this spring with a President’s Student Leadership and Service Award, the university announced in a release. Rashid said her biggest role model was her father, Sardar Abdur Rashid, originally from Bangladesh, who died in October 2004. She plans to enter medical school.
Campus projects in planning
University Relations Director Jan Morlock reported news of interest to campus neighborhoods. News includes planning for expansion of the Recreation Center to accommodate more users, development of University Park recreational fields between Mariucci Arena and the Bierman Fields, and a parking structure in the new East Gateway District to serve future buildings.
Also in the planning stage is a University of Minnesota Physicians Clinic, Morlock said. It is a new facility that would consolidate outpatient clinics currently located throughout the Academic Health Center area around Moos Tower. The facility is a collaborative project of the university, UM Physicians Clinic, and Fairview. The probable location, Morlock said, is the block owned by the university between Essex and Fulton Streets, in the Motley area of Prospect Park.
U of M info
University of Minnesota information, directories, maps, and parking can be found at www1.umn.edu/twincities/. University information by phone is at 612-625-5000. z
last revised: August 15, 2007