Students who cut across the UA Mall to make it to class on time may be out of luck this semester.
Because of the construction of the Alumni Plaza, scheduled to be completed next fall, a large barricade has gone up around the middle of the Mall, detouring bike paths and walkways next to the Modern Languages building, Administration building and the Student Union Memorial Center.
"It sucks," said Heather Durko, an optical sciences graduate student. "I was late to class because of the bike detour, which took me from the Mall all the way over to Harvill."
With the bike path that runs north and south between the Modern Languages building and the Administration building shut down, students who ride their bikes to school must go around the Mall to North Cherry Avenue in order to cross campus.
For those students who ride their bikes to the Modern Languages building, the Education building or the Psychology building, there is a temporary bike path that crosses the Mall.
Mike McDonald, chief financial officer for the Alumni Association, said that work will be done on the plaza in six phases.
The first two phases, spanning from December to May, will be the most disruptive to campus traffic, he said.
McDonald said he hopes that although work may still be going on when school begins next fall, it will not affect student traffic to the extent it does now.
"We're trying to be very conscious of minimizing disruption to student life," McDonald said. "We're looking to have the project really impact only one semester of school. But, in all honesty, it will be disruptive until people get used to things."
But some students said it will be difficult to get used to the barricade on the Mall.
"They should let us have 20 minutes to get to class now since we have to walk around something the size of Afghanistan to get to class," said Jennifer Drubin, a creative writing junior.
Rick Marsh, construction project manager for the Alumni Plaza for Facilities Design and Construction, said he hopes the construction of the plaza won't be too burdensome for the UA community.
"Our intent is to finish work on the strip between Modern Languages and the Administration building as fast as we can so people can get through," said Marsh. "Hopefully, that will take most of the pain and suffering out of it for students."
Marsh said that the Canyon walkway through the union could be the best way to get around the construction when heading to the Modern Languages building or the Administration building.
Access to the east side of the student union, which includes the food court and ATMs, is available from the south side, but during the second phase of construction, access will be available from the north side.
Students and staff can check on changes made to building accessibility and bike paths during different construction phases on the Facilities Design and Construction Web site, fdc.arizona.edu.