Campus & Community

Utility Projects to Begin on Campus This Week; Temporary Closures and Detours Expected Throughout the Summer

Monday, May 12, 2025, By Jennifer DeMarchi

The image shows a view of a university campus area with a focus on the "Law Quadrangle" sign etched on glass in the foreground. In the background, there is a brick building with trees and greenery around it. The building has two floors visible, with windows and an entrance pathway leading through an archway under the building. The scene is bright and appears to be taken during daytime.Numerous site and utility projects will be completed on campus this summer, with work undertaken by University, CenTrio and New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) contractors. These projects are related to improving electrical infrastructure, the steam distribution system and work associated with the Business Loop I-81 project. A summary of the projects can be found below:

Electrical Infrastructure – H.B. Crouse Hall

Due to the installation of a temporary power system, there will be a sidewalk closure between H.B. Crouse Hall and the Hall of Languages, which will last from mid-May through the end of July. This will allow for a temporary transformer to be installed to provide building power during the work. A brief outage is required to set up this temporary system and is planned for Tuesday, May 20, from 4-7 a.m. The outage will affect the following buildings: H.B. Crouse, Hall of Languages, Tolley, Maxwell, Eggers, Falk, Holden, Hendricks Chapel, Steele Hall and Crouse College.

Electrical Infrastructure – Carnegie Lot

The north half of the Carnegie Lot (between Carnegie Library and Bowne Hall) will be closed for electrical duct bank improvements. There will be no pedestrian pathway through this area. The work will begin during the last week in May and extend into mid-July.

Electrical Infrastructure – MS-1 Substation

A contractor will make improvements to the MS-1 Substation, located north of Flint Hall, throughout the summer. There will be no vehicle or pedestrian impacts, but construction vehicles will be active in the area.

Electrical Infrastructure – Building Substations

To allow for upgrades to electrical primary substations in west campus buildings, there are multiple building-wide electrical outages planned for the summer, as detailed below:

  • Brewster Boland Brockway (BBB) Complex: The first outage is on Wednesday, May 14, starting at 6 a.m. (lasting six to eight hours). The second outage is tentatively planned for July 17.
  • Sadler Hall and Lawrinson Hall: The first outage is Thursday, May 15, starting at 6 a.m. (lasting six to eight hours). The second outage is tentatively planned for August 1.
  • Dineen Hall and Irving Ave Garage: The first outage is Saturday, May 17, starting at 6 a.m. (lasting six to eight hours). The second outage is planned for Saturday, July 19 starting at 6 a.m. (lasting 6-8 hours).
  • JMA Wireless Dome: The Dome outages will be coordinated with building staff and are planned to occur in late July.

Steam Distribution System Infrastructure

  • University Place at Irving Avenue: Due to an emergency steam repair in this area, there will be a closure of University Place at the intersection of Irving Avenue. This will require all vehicles accessing the Marley Lot and the Hillside Lot to use South Crouse Avenue from the east. The parking gate will be opened to allow for access. This closure will be in place from mid-June through the end of July.
  • BBB Complex: There are planned utility relocations necessary to allow for the I-81 project in the area west of the BBB complex. This includes modifications to the steam system, the chilled water system and a communications duct bank. As a part of this work, the BBB parking lot, the BBB loading dock and the BBB parking garage will be closed from mid-May through the end of July.
  • Raynor Lot: There is a planned project to replace the steam distribution system along the entire east side of the Raynor Lot. There will be limited loss of parking in the area and the sidewalk on the west side of Stadium Place will be closed. The crosswalk across Stadium Place will be maintained for most of the summer. This project will start in May and extend into August.
  • Quad Lot: There will be two vault repairs completed in the Quad Lot during the summer. These repairs will have short durations, with minimal impact to vehicle access and parking.

I-81 Business Loop Construction by NYSDOT

As a part of the I-81 project, the NYSDOT will have contractors working in the area of Van Buren Street, Renwick Avenue and Almond Street beginning in May. There will be significant work in the area and Renwick Avenue will close this summer. However, at this time, the NYSDOT does not anticipate a complete closure of the Almond St./Van Buren St. intersection until 2026.

Staff with questions or concerns are asked to contact Dave Warren, Campus Planning, Design and Construction, at 315-632-5238 or dcwarren@syr.edu.