Beginning today until Oct. 22, the University will close Holy Cross Drive west of St. Joseph Drive from the Firehouse to lot A15, as part of a major road closure project needed to repair Notre Dame's chilled water system.
"All the sources pump into a common pipe," said Paul Kempf director of utilities for the University. "That's the piece we're replacing."
In a second phase of the project, officials will also close the intersection of Holy Cross Drive and St. Joseph Drive beginning Oct. 25. East-west traffic on Holy Cross Drive will reopen Oct. 29 while St. Joseph Drive at that intersection will be until Nov. 12. The University has designated multiple alternate entrances for buildings and departments affected by the construction.
Holy Cross Drive is the main road that circles the edge of Notre Dame's campus. Kempf said when the project is completed, repairs on the system will not likely be needed for several decades.
Kempf said the road closures are carefully timed to occur around the Oct. 23 Boston College and Nov. 13 Pittsburgh home football games. He said repairs could not be completed during the normal summer construction period because the chilled water system is in use then.
Officials also could not begin repairs during colder winter months and chose to complete the majority of the project in between the Stanford, Boston College and Pittsburgh home games.
"We don't make chilled water all year round," Kempf said. "You can only shut it off when you're not using it. We just don't have any other opportunity."
Kempf said he does not anticipate possible snow being a problem for the project.
"Like any construction, there could be something that's unforeseen," he said. "We're more worried about temperature than we're worried about snow."
