Traffic advisory: Langdon Street utility construction

Langdon Street from Lake Street to Park Street is reduced to one lane of traffic westbound and the eastbound lane has been closed for utility construction.

The lane closure is due to an underground tunnel project on the north side of the Wisconsin Historical Society building that will run from Science Hall across Park Street and along Langdon Street to the east corner of Library Mall where the East Campus Mall tunnel now ends.

The tunnel will contain an array of utilities, including steam, chilled water and electrical duct banks.

The project is expected to continue through September 2013. According to Transportation Services, an eastbound contra-flow bike lane will be provided. It is a lane that goes in the opposite direction of motor vehicle traffic.

“Along with a state project repairing the Wisconsin Historical Society’s leaking underground film archive, this project also required closing most of Library Mall, leaving only one sidewalk to the east next to Memorial Library. This has also meant shifting the crosswalk to Memorial Union east, close to the Red Gym,” says Rob Kennedy of Transportation Services.

Looking ahead: The south leg of North Park Street will be closed during the summer of 2013 and will require all traffic to enter the area from Lake Street and exit using Observatory Drive and then Charter Street. That part of the project will start immediately after commencement weekend in May 2013.