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Pullen on
pace to open
before semester begins
It has perhaps been the campus question this summer – will Pullen Road re-open before 30,000 students roll in to start the fall semester?
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Contributed
photo |
| Crew members from Thalle Construction work to place the aggregate base course for the roadway at the Rocky Branch Creek restoration project. Project managers expect to have Pullen Road open by the beginning of classes. |
Ted Devens, manager of the Rocky Branch Creek restoration project, believes that he can now, with at least some degree of certainty, say ‘yes.’
“We are very confident that we can open Pullen prior to school starting, and we are optimistic that we might have it open as early as Aug. 12,” Devens said.
The bridge itself is structurally complete, Devens said. All that remains is some aesthetic work such as brick veneer and finished handrails.
As of midweek, crews had also backfilled the 30-foot embankments to Pullen, completed the aggregate base course, and placed the curbs and gutters. All that was left to do was pave, restripe the roadway, add the sidewalks and place temporary handrails on the bridge.
Oh, and one more thing. “Pray for good weather,” Devens said.
Pullen Road has been closed throughout the summer in order to demolish and rebuild the culvert that carries the Rocky Branch stream under the road. It is part of a stream restoration project that will eventually connect the Raleigh greenway system with a new multiuse path from Morrill Drive to Pullen Park, with a multiuse path that will cross under Pullen in the new, wider culvert. The project also will restore Rocky Branch – which was previously straightened – to a more natural state with “meanders” and bends, and enhance the aquatic ecosystem.
Posted Aug. 5, 2005
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