This year students and visitors will face the added complication of construction along popular routes. Road construction in areas around Tuscaloosa and the University campus have already been causing traffic problems, such as the stretch of University Boulevard that has been changed to a single-lane road until construction is finished. A stretch of road surrounding the Ferguson Center continues to be under construction, which currently detours all non-essential traffic from the parking deck and the Ridgecrest residence halls.
These areas are typical hot spots during graduation, since the area under construction on University Boulevard is right in front of Coleman Coliseum and the Ferguson Center sees a rise in activity as well. Some members of the UA community have expressed their displeasure with the inconvenience this construction will cause them during graduation.
“Traffic is worse during graduation,” said Thomas Joa, a graduate student who went through the commencement process last year. “Everyone is trying to get as close as possible to the Coliseum and it makes the flow of traffic horrible. The construction this year will give less route options which will make the roads far more congested.”
However, construction on Jack Warner Parkway will be completed by the time graduation rolls around, which possibly could help compensate for traffic complications elsewhere. But some are still questioning the University’s timing.
Rob Grady, a graduate student who has gone through the commencement process and who also has experience working for the University with construction, weighed in on why the University may have chosen the route it did.
“Construction on a college campus is difficult because it is almost always occupied by a large number of students, faculty and staff,” Grady said. “Had construction been delayed until after Spring graduation, there would still be the possibility of overlapping with Summer and Fall graduation or football season.”
The lane restrictions for University Boulevard and around the Ferguson Center are expected to stay that way past graduation and possibly into the summer. Commencement for the College of Arts and Sciences is May 5, while commencement for other departments will be held on May 6. The Law School’s commencement will take place May 7.
