Campus Road and Utility Projects for Summer 2025

Ongoing utility and building projects will bring adjustments for pedestrians, motorists and Duke Transit

As the spring semester ends, work on utility and renovation projects across Duke’s campus will gear up for the summer.

Much of the work is related to ongoing utility upgrades and renovations to decades-old buildings funded largely through philanthropic donations. Here’s a look at the work Duke Facilities Management will oversee and how it will affect vehicular and pedestrian traffic on campus.

For real time road closure updates, campus visitors can also check Google Maps.

Garden Gateway Project

What’s happening: When the Garden Gateway project is complete, visitors to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens will enjoy a new welcome center with a café, upgraded restrooms, a gallery space and outdoor plaza. The Doris Duke Center is also being expanded to accommodate larger events.

What to expect: During the work, the main entrance, the Doris Duke Center and all of the gardens’ parking lots are closed. There is a temporary entrance at 2000 Lewis St. While there is no weekday parking available, visitors can park in the nearby H Lot on weekends. To connect sewer lines to new facilities, both lanes of Anderson Street are tentatively planned to be closed from May 26-31. The CSF-1 transit route, a hybrid of the C-1 and Swift Avenue Shuttle routes operating this summer, will be routed down Alexander Avenue. Bus riders wanting access to the Rubenstein Arts Center will need to use the Nasher Museum of Art bus stop on the south side of Campus Drive.

Expected completion: The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026.

The entrance to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens will be closed until 2026.

Gross Hall and Sanford Hall Hot Water Conversion

What’s happening: Duke is in the midst of switching buildings from a steam system that has handled the heating needs of campus since the 1920s, to a more energy-efficient hot water system. Starting in May, Gross Hall and Sanford Hall will be added to Duke’s hot water network, which consists of underground pipes running to and from a hot water plant on West Campus.

What to expect: Connecting the buildings to the underground network will require the closure of both lanes of Towerview Road from the entrance to the Law School Lot to the Student Wellness Center starting on May 12. Science Drive will remain open during the work. Approximately 30 parking spaces in the Law School lot will be used to store equipment and allow crews to work on connecting to existing underground pipes.

Expected completion: Towerview Road is expected to reopen in mid-August.

Portions of Towerview Road will be closed to traffic this summer.

Campus Drive Utility Work

What’s happening: As part of Duke’s shift to the new hot water system, a web of underground steam lines will be decommissioned. Some of these lines run beneath Campus Drive between East and West campuses.

What to expect: To reach the pipes and fill them with concrete for decommissioning, single lanes on Campus Drive will occasionally be closed for brief periods during the summer and fall.

Expected completion: The work is expected to be complete by December 2025.

In order to decommission steam lines, single lanes will be periodically closed on Campus Drive in coming months.

Chapel Drive Entrance

What’s happening: The Chapel Drive entrance to West Campus from the Campus Drive traffic circle will be enhanced with a new permanent attendant shelter, raised crosswalk and traffic control bollards that can be raised and lowered across the roadway.

What to expect: Starting May 15, the Chapel Drive entrance will be closed to all vehicles. Pedestrians will access Chapel Drive via the existing walk from Flowers Drive. Beginning May 27, the Abele Quad bus stop – which serves the C1: East-West and Swift Avenue Shuttle routes – will be temporarily relocated to Flowers Drive behind the Allen Building. Temporary pedestrian signage will be installed in areas affected by the closure, in addition to a temporary Chapel Drive access route on Flowers Drive for emergency vehicles only.

Expected completion: The entire project is expected to be completed in September 2025. The scheduled work on Chapel Drive in August will not impede access for move-in or orientation-related events. The Abele Quad bus stop is expected to reopen in mid-August. Once project work is complete, Chapel Drive will continue to be closed to all vehicles, except for Duke buses and those with approved authorization.

The Chapel Drive entrance to West Campus will undergo a significant enhancement this summer.

Yearby Avenue Repaving

What’s happening: A repair and repaving project will give Yearby Avenue a new road surface, bike lanes, upgraded gutters and new sidewalks. The work is part of a larger project that will eventually upgrade Flowers Drive as well.

What to expect: Scheduled to begin in July, Yearby Avenue will be closed between Anderson Street and the entrance to the Graduate Center Lot near Flowers Drive. All sidewalks will be open during the project. GC Lot users can access the lot via Flowers Drive. H Lot permit holders can access the lot from Anderson Street. The H-1 bus route will have an additional stop on Flowers Drive during the project.

Expected completion: The work is expected to be completed in late July or early August.

Yearby Avenue will get a new road surface, bike lanes and sidewalks this summer.

Reuben-Cooke Building Renovation

What’s happening: Built in 1931, the Reuben-Cooke Building will undergo a renovation – supported by a gift from The Duke Endowment – that will include a new roof, an overhaul of its mechanical, electrical, plumbing and telecommunications systems, restoration of historic windows and replacement of existing windows, and a modernization of its offices, classrooms and lab spaces.

What to expect: The building will be closed for nearly two years starting this June. The sidewalks between the Reuben-Cooke Building and the Social Sciences Building will be closed and approximately 60 parking spaces in the Upper Allen Building Lot will be temporarily out of service.

Expected completion: The work is expected to be finished in the summer of 2027.

The Reuben-Cooke Building will undergo a major renovation over the next two years.

Lilly Library Renovation

What’s happening: Originally opened in 1927, Lilly Library, a hub of student life on East Campus, is in the midst of a two-year renovation and expansion project that will blend the building’s historic charm with modern features. The library will have more collaborative study spaces, technology-equipped project rooms and a new entrance.

What to expect: Lilly Library has been closed since May 2024 with the library’s staff providing services such as checking out materials, printing and scanning in Bishop’s House. Vehicular access will remain limited on Brodie Gym Drive and the Pegram Parking Lot will remain closed until the work is completed.

Expected completion: The project is expected to be complete in the fall of 2026.

When it reopens in 2026, Lilly Library will be a state-of-the-art gathering and study space for East Campus.

East Campus Landscape and Infrastructure Renovation

What’s happening: The refresh of the landscape, hardscape and infrastructure within the East Campus Quad will continue this summer. Throughout the past academic year work has continued on the project, which involved replacing the stormwater drainage system, sidewalks, granite curbs and irrigation system as well as upgrading the lighting with LEDs.

What to expect: The work will require intermittent sidewalk closures and roadway closures within East Campus Quad.

Expected completion: Sidewalks and roadways in the East Campus Quad should reopen by the end of the fall semester, while work will continue on plantings and landscaping throughout the fall and spring semesters. The final step will be repaving the roadway surrounding the quad, which should take place in spring of 2026.

Most of the work for the renovation of East Campus will be complete this fall.

Washington Duke Inn Lobby Renovation

What’s happening: The Washington Duke Inn’s lobby, Bull Durham Bar and patio and the Fairview patio will all be renovated. There will also be a new restroom added to the public spaces of the hotel near West Campus.

What to expect: The hotel will be closed to the public from June 29 to July 13. Pedestrian traffic through the interior of the hotel will be re-routed as needed throughout the duration of the project.

Expected completion: The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2026.

The lobby of the Washington Duke Inn will be renovated this summer.

Abele and Davison Quad Hot Water Distribution

What’s happening: Starting this month, the hot water system serving West Campus will be extended from the Brodhead Center to the area of Abele Quad and Davison Quad. The project, which will replace sections of the steam system, will require utility trenches to be dug behind Perkins Library, the Gray Building and the Westbrook Divinity Building.

What to expect: There will be intermittent pedestrian detours near the work site and the loading dock behind Perkins Library will be available for emergency use only during the summer session.

Expected completion: The work will be complete in the spring of 2026.