UI seeks approval to build $23 million transportation center at hospital

The University of Iowa wants a new $23 million transportation center on its west campus before building a new Children's Hospital tower, according to the Iowa State Board of Regents agenda for its upcoming June 8, 2011 meeting.

The University is requesting approval to build the West Campus Transportation Center on Evashevski Drive across from Kinnick Stadium. The center would include a new Cambus interchange that would serve 4,000 passengers daily, as well as parking and Cambus offices and maintenance facilities.

The new center would be connected to the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics by way of a skywalk over Hawkins Drive to hospital parking ramp 2.

The transportation center is needed on west campus to help accommodate an increase in traffic on the west campus that will come once the school builds its $271 million Children's Hospital tower, according to the project proposal. Regents approved the tower at their February meeting.

The proposed site for the transportation center currently is occupied by a parking lot and the football team's Indoor Practice Facility. The center would be constructed first atop the parking spaces, while the practice facility later would be razed to replace the parking lost to the center's construction. Plans for a new indoor practice facility already are under way as part of the school's football operations project

If approved, the transportation center would go to bid in September 2011, with construction completed by July 2012. The indoor practice facility demolition will go to bid in January 2012 with work completed by October 2012.

Money for the facility's  construction will come from several sources including the university's parking improvement and replacement funds, UIHC gifts and earnings, institutional roads funds, and the utility system renewal and improvement fund.

The university's capital improvement requests also included a new golf training facility and renovations to Department of Pharmacology facilities at the Bowen Science Building.