AACC reroutes road for traffic

Alex Fregger, Tech Editor

Construction on Ring Road will begin in March 2019 and last until June, officials said in August.  

The planned Health Sciences and Biology Building—where the Olson Memorial Pool and old Schwartz Building once stood—will house AACC’s growing science program and will require Ring Road, which circles around Arnold’s East Campus, to be rerouted.  

Starting in March, construction crews will redirect traffic through Lot D, which is on the north side of East Campus next to Siegert Field. 

Vice President for Learning Resources Management Melissa Beardmore said it “might be a little inconvenient to students but ultimately, when the project is finished, Ring Road will go through [a] new parking lot [and] it’ll be a little bit easier to get around campus.”  

According to Beardmore, the rerouting of Ring Road should be complete by July. 

Montana Hoover, a third-year computer science student, said the college should save the construction until the summer “when there’s less people here. … Of course there’s going to be more traffic. That’s when most students are here.”  

Olorunjuwon Ajayi, a fourth-year computer science and engineering student, said the traffic will be worst by the police station because it will take longer to drive through Lot D than around it, and that might cause issues for students going to the library.  

AACC Police Lt. Gary Vernon advised students to be aware of heavy equipment on campus and that not all of it will stay on Ring Road.