The semester began with construction barricades and traffic snarls surrounding campus, and it won't end any differently.
Construction projects on University Drive are going to persist longer than originally anticipated, said a spokesman for the city of Tempe's water utilities department.
Katie Wafer, a marketing freshman, said the construction on University Drive makes it difficult to get around.
"At night, it's pretty much easier to walk to Mill [Avenue] instead of drive," she said.
Crews are replacing water and sewer lines under the street. The project was originally scheduled for completion in mid-May but will now continue into June, said Ron Coleman, the spokesman.
The city's June 2 deadline is firm and virtually immune from further delays, he said.
"The lanes will be striped. The streets will be clean. Everything will be gone," he said.
Christa Lee, a nursing sophomore, said the construction makes it hard to know how long her commute will take.
"I think I'll be on time for class, but then I hit the traffic, and it takes a long time," she said. "People get mad, have a little road rage once in a while."
The aging utility lines are being replaced and upsized to handle growth at ASU and in downtown Tempe, Coleman said.
ASU is constructing new residence halls for thousands of students. The upsized water line should help water flow on campus, he said.
The region around Mill Avenue is also bracing for thousands of new residents, as multiple condominium projects are planned or under construction and scheduled for completion in the next three years.
"With the additional development in downtown Tempe, it gives us capacity to handle that without any concerns," Coleman said of the utility upgrades.
Project costs were not immediately available Friday, but Coleman said ASU is funding the sewer project, and Tempe is funding the water line.
Max Quinones, a computer information systems junior, said he moved closer to campus so his commute on the Valley Metro bus would be faster.
"That's how I solved the traffic problem," he said.
Officials decided to wait until traffic calms after ASU graduation to replace the bricks in the intersection at University Drive and Mill Avenue.
Right now, the intersection is a patchwork of asphalt and decorative brick. Construction crews recently finished replacing pipes and installing a system of valves where water lines intersect, Coleman said.
The valves will mean less disruption when crews replace underground utilities in the future, he added.
"If there's some additional work in the future, they can stay out of the intersection," Coleman said. "Surprise, surprise, we planned ahead."
Tempe has no specific plans or identified funding for future utility construction adjacent to campus, but a few line upgrades will be necessary soon, he said.
A water line underneath Mill Avenue between Thirteenth Street and University Drive may need to be replaced next year, Coleman said.
A line may also need to be installed from the water tank on Hayden Butte to the new line under University Drive, he added.
Additional, but unrelated traffic restrictions, are planned for Apache Boulevard and McClintock Drive beginning May 14, according to city documents.
Crews will install light rail tracks across the intersection, which will be closed to traffic traveling north and south, the documents show. Traffic will be detoured around the intersection.
Local business access will be maintained, according to the documents.
"The restriction is timed to take advantage of the reduced traffic volumes which occur between the end of ASU spring semester ... and the beginning of ASU summer session," wrote Carlos de Leon, the city's deputy public works manager, in a memo to the mayor and council.
Reach the reporter at: jonathan.cooper@asu.edu.
