Construction began in mid July on Villiger Law for a new pedestrian underpass at the City and Cardinal Avenue intersection. The 21-foot wide underpass will connect the Maguire and Hawk Hill campuses, offering safer transportation for pedestrians.
“This project is all about pedestrian safety and providing a safe and direct connection between Philadelphia and Lower Merion,” said Kevin Mueller, director of construction and planning in a written response to questions from the Hawk. “The project also integrates both sides of our campus by dissolving perceived boundaries and encouraging active mobility over driving.”
Mueller said that the underpass will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), being ramped rather than having stairs. Construction will occur at night during certain stages of the project, and there is a noise consultant from Dayton Services on the project team.
Milton O’Brien ’25 is a resident assistant (RA) at Villiger Hall, and secretary of academic affairs on the University Student Senate (USS). O’Brien said the noise from the early morning construction is noticeable.
“They do start working around seven o’clock in the morning or six o’clock, but I haven’t seen any issues with the residents themselves,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien said that earplugs have not been offered to residents. During construction, Mueller said that the City Avenue to Cardinal Avenue crosswalk and the Maguire campus entrance will be blocked off at certain times, but there will be alternate pedestrian paths during these times.
The project schedule states that there will be City Avenue utility relocations until September, then bridge construction until July 2023, followed by interior work and on-campus sitework from July to December 2023. The underpass is expected to be finalized and ready for students, neighborhood residents and City Avenue commuters to use in fall 2023.
According to Mueller, St. Joe’s received $6 million in public funding towards the project from PennDot and The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with both organizations committing $3 million grants. Mueller declined to disclose the remainder of the cost that St. Joe’s is paying.
“Numerous community engagement initiatives took place with community-based organizations and elected officials,” said Wadell Ridley, assistant vice president of Government and Community Relations in a written response to questions from the Hawk.
The university announced naming opportunities for both the pedestrian underpass and the walkway approaching City Avenue, asking $6 million for the underpass and $500,000 for the walkway.
Regardless of the noise and amount of time the project will take, students are excited about the connection of the two sides of campus.
“It’s gonna be really cool because you’re not going to have to just stand there waiting at the intersection, people will be able to just go from one side to the other really easily,” said O’Brien. “I’m really happy they’re doing it.”