People who park in Neil Avenue Garage near the Recreation and Physical Activity Center will not be able to exit through John Herrick Drive starting Wednesday as part of a two-month, $4.5 million project.
John Herrick Drive, located by Campbell Hall’s side door, will be partially closed between Parks Hall and Cannon Drive for two months. However, Neil Avenue Garage and building loading docks will remain accessible, according to Ohio State’s Transportation and Traffic Management website.
The garage is used primarily by OSU faculty and staff.
The closing is part of a $4.5 million project aiming to upgrade the steam and condensate distribution system in the campus area, acting as only a portion of a much larger project that will run between Drake Union and South Campus Central Chiller Plant, said Lindsay Komlanc, spokeswoman for OSU’s Administration and Planning. The construction benefits the utility system on campus, which involves steam lines that are part of the heating and hot water system, Komlanc said.
“Every system like that needs routine maintenance and modernization to keep it in good working order,” Komlanc said.
Some people are worried the closing will create traffic jams in  Neil Avenue, since cars parked in the Neil Avenue Garage will have to exit through Neil Drive and pass through Neil Avenue instead.
“I have to go all the way around Neil (Avenue) to 12th Avenue,” said Erin O’Rourke, a Wexner Medical Center staff member.
Jennifer Peters, a program manager at the RPAC  who parks in Neil Avenue Garage, said she is not sure how the closing will affect her.
“I haven’t seen what the traffic pattern will be,” Peters said. “I will have to see.”