After more than two and a half years of collaboration between Newman University, the City of Wichita and businesses adjacent to the Newman campus, construction is officially beginning on the re-route of a section of McCormick Avenue which currently runs through the center of the Newman campus. The City awarded Cornejo & Sons, Inc. the contract on April 4, with construction set to begin immediately after Easter.
McCormick is being re-routed to the northern perimeter of campus adjacent to Kellogg to increase student and pedestrian safety and to help facilitate construction of a new 48,000 sq. ft. library-campus center and a pedestrian mall. When the re-route is completed, the old section of roadway between Dondlinger Drive on the east side of campus and Sheridan Avenue on the west will be removed to make way for development of an international themed pedestrian mall, which will be privately funded and completed as part of Newman’s campaign for the Library and Campus Center.
“We are very grateful for the partnership that has developed between Newman University, the City of Wichita and our immediate neighbors,” said Newman President and CEO Aidan O. Dunleavy. “The City Council recognized the importance of this work and we are excited to have the project underway. We are particularly grateful to our District IV Council Member Paul Gray, to late City Manager Chris Churches, former Mayor Bob Knight, and current Mayor Carlos Mayans for their support and leadership on the project. We also extend thanks to our neighbors and friends on the west end of McCormick for their understanding and encouragement, and to MKEC Inc., who worked with the City on the engineering for the project. This is a tremendous step forward for Newman University.”
“There has been a real openness of communication with the City of Wichita, MKEC and Cornejo & Sons; they have been absolutely wonderful to work with,” said Newman Vice President for Operations Harry Pape. “Our students, faculty, staff and trustees are very excited for work to begin.”
Work on the intersections of McCormick, Dondlinger Drive and Sheridan will take place near the end of the construction cycle to leave the flow of traffic unobstructed for as long as possible. When construction is complete, vehicles will still be able to access the old McCormick Avenue from K-42 to Dondlinger Drive and from West Street. The project is estimated to be completed in late summer of this year. The City has budgeted $1.2 million toward the work through the City Improvement Program, with Newman paying for the remainder of the road work, parking area changes, and the library-campus center and mall through its campaign efforts.
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Newman University is a private, regional and international Catholic university focused on education for life. Offering more than 40 undergraduate and graduate programs, Newman University features small classes with personalized instruction. The university meets the needs of traditional freshmen, as well as returning adults who take advantage of convenient evening and Saturday class formats.
For more information about Newman University go to www.newmanu.edu.
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