This Week's Construction News

Students begin to arrive for the fall semester this week (Welcome Students!), so contractors are busy trying to get as much finished as possible; the Town of Amherst keeps plugging away on North Pleasant Street with the hopes of making the road passable by Move In; curbing and finishing work will be taking place this week at the west end of Chancellors Way, so the intersection with Thatcher Way remains closed to through traffic; work is finishing up in the Van Meter section of Orchard Hill Road; Commonwealth Avenue will return to four-lane status; and a new sidewalk has been completed on Hicks Way... [more]

Amherst continues Work On North Pleasant Street - changes detour

THE TOWN OF AMHERST has continued work on North Pleasant Street from Triangle Street to Massachusetts Avenue and now detours west/northbound traffic.

North Pleasant Street is now intermittently CLOSED to NORTHbound traffic (the detour had previously been for southbound traffic) from Triangle Street/North Pleasant Street to McLellan Street and Lincoln Avenue. Southbound traffic is currently being allowed through the construction area. (See map)

Work is taking place between 6AM and 4PM, weekdays. The roadway will reopen to two-way traffic on evenings and weekends. Please watch for and follow all detour signs.

Please note that we do not, at this writing, have any specific timetable from the Town of Amherst as to when they expect to complete work in the area; nor are we being informed as to when and how traffic detours may change. We have requested this information, and it will be posted when available.

Questions concerning this project should be directed to Town Engineer Jason O. Skeels, Amherst DPW, 259-3029; skeelsj@amherstma.gov.

Building Information Modeling Symposium Presentations Available

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is undergoing a large capital construction program. While much of the work has already been put in place, more capital improvements are planned over the next few years. Similar construction programs are being planned at other campuses within the University system and at other State colleges in Massachusetts. To better respond to the demands of such construction programs and the need for greater control, coordination and project integration, a symposium was held on June 27 to tap industry experts for a lively discussion on the benefits and challenges of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) delivery method.

The Symposium was designed around a Panel of Experts from selected owner's groups, architectural/engineering, construction management and related consulting firms who have utilized BIM for design, construction coordination and facilities management purposes. The event was attended by facility management professionals from University of Massachusetts system, staff of the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management, representatives of the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, facilities managers from the Amherst, Hampshire, Mt. Holyoke and Smith college campuses, and members of the design and construction community that serves the UMass system.

PowerPoint presentations and audio files from the symposium are available here.

For more information, contact Ludmilla Pavlova, UMass Amherst Facilities & Campus Planning, at (413) 577-1720 or lpavlova@facil.umass.edu.