Goodbye, clean shoes. The construction around campus has been evident with muddy trails left on the floors of campus buildings and residence halls.

“The last thing I expected from this construction project was for it to ruin my brand new white Nike Air Force shoes,” sophomore Kelly Garrett said. “Nor did I expect to spend 30 minutes trying to scrub off all the mud that covered my shoes in the bathroom.”

Due to recent rainy weather, construction around campus has gotten messier than intended. People walking on campus sometimes have no choice but to go through the mud to get where they need to be.

“To get from Reeve to Taylor or the Rec without walking around the entire campus, you’re going to have to walk through a ridiculous amount of mud and if you’re wearing white shoes, it means you’re going to completely ruin them,” senior Lexi Wojcik-Kretchmer said. “My perfectly new, white Vans now are more of a tan color. I did my best to clean them after trudging through the mud, but was unsuccessful.”

The next phase of the Algoma Boulevard Project began this week between Wisconsin Street and Vine Avenue through campus. Wisconsin Street and West New York Avenue are closed to thru traffic.

“The work includes completing the storm, sanitary, water, tree removal and concrete paving and is expected to take 25 weeks,” Chief Facilities Officer JoAnn Rife said.

High Avenue from Osceola Street to West New York Avenue is two-way traffic, likely through Oct. 28.

According to Rife, impacted campus facilities include:
Parking Lot 18 (Scott Hall), north access restricted
Parking Lot 37 (Lincoln Hall), south access restricted
Algoma Boulevard and Osceola Street, bus stop closed
Parking Lot 15 (Blackhawk Commons), north access restricted
Reeve Memorial Union, street parking eliminated and loading bay access restricted
Albee Hall, street parking eliminated, bus stop closed
Oviatt House, driveway access restricted
Driveway between Albee Hall and Dempsey restricted
Algoma Boulevard and Woodland Avenue, bus stop closed
Parking Lot 4a, south access will be restricted
Heating Plant, driveway access off Algoma Boulevard restricted
Theatre Arts Center, driveway access restricted
Sidewalks along this stretch of Algoma Boulevard, removed in conjunction with construction

GO Transit Buses No. 5 and 10 will be taking different routes due to construction. The detours for these two buses are subject to change, depending on weather, schedule changes and conflicts. Contact GO Transit at (920) 232-5340 or visit the GO Transit website for specific information on the bus detours.

No construction work will take place on Friday.

According to City of Oshkosh Civil Engineer Josh Fleming, the estimated completion date for this project is Nov. 11.

Roads and parking areas will continue to be blocked off as construction continues. Stay updated with construction at uwosh.edu/facilities/facilities-planning-and-construction/algoma-boulevard-project/.