Campus road work this summer will bring the complete closure of Old Davis Road between Interstate 80 and the south entry visitor kiosk for nearly three weeks in July.

The campus is rebuilding this section of road — just over a third of a mile long — with 6-foot-wide bike lanes and 2-foot-wide shoulders, and post-and-cable fencing on both sides.

Preliminary work will start sooner, this coming Monday (June 19), after commencements, and may require one-way traffic control during off-commute hours. The closure in both directions will be 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from Saturday, July 8, to Sunday, July 30.

So, to all staff and faculty who use this UC Davis entry, campus officials strongly encourage you to use Hutchison Drive via Highway 113 as your alternative — so as to avoid exacerbating congestion on Richards Boulevard (into and out of downtown Davis) during this brief construction project.

Prior to and during the closure, signs will be posted along eastbound and westbound I-80 to notify drivers of the road closure and detour.

The roundabout at Old Davis Road and La Rue Road will remain open, which means you can take Hutchison Drive to La Rue to Mrak Hall and the surrounding area, including the Gateway Parking Structure. Special note for bicycle riders: The bike lane connecting the south campus and main campus will remain open.

When Old Davis Road is closed, the visitor kiosk will be closed and no attendant will be available. If you are accustomed to telling visitors to stop at the kiosk — say, to pick up a parking pass or to ask for directions — you’ll need to make other arrangements. Call Transportation Services (TAPS), 530-752-8277 for more information.

Vineyard to be expanded

The university has contracted with Biondi Paving and Engineering of Sacramento for the Old Davis Road project and an unrelated job on California Avenue near Cruess Hall, to replace the traffic gate there. Biondi won the entire contract with a low bid of $1.7 million.

Biondi will rehabilitate Old Davis Road using the full-depth reclamation method; that is, the existing pavement will be ground up and used in the new road base.

The road’s alignment will stay as is, and, in conjunction with this project, the campus will take the opportunity to extend the adjacent teaching vineyard up to the edge of the road. The vineyard is used and maintained by the Department of Viticulture and Enology.

In driving alongside the vineyard, “visitors will have a beautiful, up-close introduction to the university’s agricultural heritage,” said Bob Segar, assistant vice chancellor of Campus Planning and Environmental Stewardship.

The project also calls for reviving the landscape around the UC Davis entrance sign.

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