East Fourth Street to close during utility pipeline installation

The street will close early tomorrow morning to all traffic except emergency vehicles and vehicles making deliveries to buildings along Fourth Street, according to a construction update distributed by Facilities Design and Construction.

Dennis McCarthy, construction project manager for Facilities Design and Construction, said contractors will install a pipe under Fourth Street north of the Gould-Simpson Building that will tie into two existing utility tunnels.

McCarthy said the street will remain closed until March 29. The bike path and sidewalk between Yavapai Residence Hall and the Family and Consumer Resources building, which is already closed, should also reopen at that time, he said.

Installation of the pipeline began near Maricopa Residence Hall Dec. 19. The entire project snakes through campus, passing between the Economics and Engineering buildings, around the west side of the Old Main fountain, between the Social Sciences and Forbes buildings, and then between Family and Consumer Resources and Yavapai where it runs west along Fourth Street and turns south at the Franklin Building.

The pipeline will connect to the Central Refrigeration Plant on East Helen Street.

"We're pushing to get it (the project) done by the end of the month," McCarthy said, adding that landscaping work along the pipeline's path might extend beyond April 1.