Utility Project at Fuqua and School of Law Buildings to Limit Traffic Starting in April

Hot water system project will result in a temporary lane closure on Science Drive

Roadwork sign

A project connecting the Fuqua School of Business and Duke University School of Law buildings to Duke’s hot water system will result in a temporary lane closure on Science Drive and minor parking adjustments during the next few months.

The work will begin on Monday, April 15, and is expected to be complete by November 1.

Among the parking and traffic adjustments are:

  • Starting Monday, April 15, the project will require closing a section of the Duke Law School’s parking lot. Part of the lot will remain closed until November 1. While most of the lot will remain open throughout the project, Law Lot permit holders will be able to park in the Chemistry Lot.
  • Beginning Monday, April 22, one lane of Science Drive, near the intersection with Whitford Drive, will be closed. Temporary traffic lights will be installed to direct drivers. The lane will remain closed – except for a brief break around commencement from May 1 to May 14 – until September 17.
  • From May 15 to July 12, entry to the traffic circle near the Keller Center entrance to the Fuqua School of Business will be limited to smaller vehicles.
  • Throughout the work, all pedestrian entrances to the Fuqua School of Business will remain open. The west entrance to the Duke Law School addition will be closed from July 15 to November 1, but all other entrances to the building will remain open.

The work is part of Duke Facilities Management’s goal of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of campus by shifting buildings from the decades-old steam heating system to the more efficient hot water heating system. To do this, the Fuqua School and Law School buildings will connect to the existing hot water system with two underground pipes – each one 14 inches in diameter.

The pipes will run from beneath Science Drive to connection points with the Fuqua School and Law School buildings through a roughly 400-foot long, 42-inch wide passageway that will be bored 15 feet below a wooded area between the two buildings.

A separate utility project on Science Drive, near the entrance to Bryant Center Circle, will result in periodic road closures until late August.

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