Correction: The story misidentified Mike Rice as the MSU police deputy chief. The story should have said he is the assistant police chief.
A controversial $19.5-million parking structure on north campus will open seven months ahead of schedule.
The ramp, located between Morrill Hall and Olin Health Center, will open Dec. 11, earlier than the projected July 31 date. University officials said construction of the ramp was completed earlier than planned, with just minor detail work remaining. Brad Bull, construction superintendent with the MSU Physical Plant, said good weather conditions last winter also helped the construction phase.
"We built time into the schedule in anticipation of problems caused by the site constraints," said Mike Rice, MSU police deputy chief.
The tight location between the two buildings and the presence of groundwater were among the constraints officials mentioned they had to work with when the ramp was approved in February 2005.
"The contractor did an excellent job of dealing with those challenges and turned the ramp over to the university significantly ahead of schedule," Rice said.
In the past, some faculty members who have offices in Morrill Hall expressed concern that the ramp would close off interaction between the campus and city, as well as worry over its necessity. Administrators cited a need for more parking on north campus and an increase in traffic safety as among the reasons for the ramp.
History professor Lisa Fine, who has an office on the fourth floor of Morrill Hall, said the structure will provide more parking in an area that needed it, but added that she will lose her view of Grand River Avenue.
In the beginning stages, Fine said some faculty members were concerned that Morrill Hall would suffer structural damage from the construction, but the building has held up well.
"It's always been hard to find parking on the north part of campus," she said. "What can I say? It's progress."
Spaces for 553 faculty and staff permits are available on the upper levels of the ramp, with 147 metered spots on the basement and ground levels. Access will include both East Circle Drive and Grand River Avenue.
The final cost of the ramp could not be determined Thursday.
East Lansing Mayor Pro Tem Vic Loomis said he was concerned about the ramp's potential impact on the flow of traffic along portions of Grand River Avenue. With more than 100 metered spaces, people coming and going from the ramp could congest rush hour traffic, he added.
"If it's accessible only through the week on the campus entrance, it will have a minimal effect," he said. "Increasing the number of users to the area will have an impact."
While the ramp was being constructed, MSU contracted extra parking spaces from the city for 100 of its employees. At a cost of $50 a space, with a contract that began in May 2005, the city raked in $95,000.
However, the new parking ramp could draw some customers away from the city's parking system, East Lansing Parking Administrator Dan O'Connor said.
"We are hoping we are not going to see much of an impact on our parking system," O'Connor said. "In the very near future, we are going to be taking credit cards. We are hoping we are going to be so much more convenient, we are going to be a more desirable location."
