<p>How is the University population going to tolerate the lack of busses going through Central Grounds when school starts? And yet nothing is being done-- no scaffolding, nothing. Will we have to tolerate this all semester?</p>
<p>From what I have heard, yes, you will get off at the night stop turned 24 hour stop near Thornton hall and trek. Now everyone feels like people at eagle’s landing felt last year? lol. I dunno it’s absolutely ridiculous.</p>
<p>
via [VDOT</a> Reduces McCormick Road Bridge Weight Limit to 8 Tons](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=19087]VDOT”>http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=19087)</p>
<p>It may be advisable to bring a bike.</p>
<p>I can imagine a scenario where buses would stop on one side, let people off, and then if they are going far, they get on buses on the other side. However, they would need to stop where they could turn around. Or maybe some smaller vans might be used???</p>
<p>I never rode buses when I went to the U., but I can understand the need for people who lived far away.</p>
<p>Remember, it’s not the university making these repairs, it’s VDoT. A bridge at UVa doesn’t automatically jump to the top of their priority list because students might have to walk a little further or have a different bus route. VDoT’s pace of work (or lack thereof) has been a point of frustration of most Virginia residents at one point or another. Depending on where you live in the commonwealth it’s not a matter of ‘when there is road construction’, it’s a matter of ‘where road construction isn’t’. I can’t remember a time in my life (literally) that there wasn’t some major work going on that dictated the route we take and the time of day you can do it.</p>
<p>There is no way for a bus to get to the “other side” charlie. The current detours will stay in place until the bridge is fixed. No bus service between the Thornton Hall stop and the Rotunda. If “they are going far” charlie, they continue on the buses around the DETOUR. It is only students going to classes (aka not that far) that are affected. Smaller vans would be impossible, first of all UVA has no money to purchase them, second of all buses are already full during peak hours (I Hate that “bus full” sign ughh) so having vans would just cause more resentment at UTS when not many students could ride them. Better to just keep detouring, they are doing the right thing, it is not that far to walk. I taught at UVA all last month and it is not that inconvenient. Either you take a bus to the Rotunda side or you get off at Thornton. Engineering students won’t even notice the difference. ;)</p>
<p>It’s not just the walking to classes thing – it’s that the library and the chapel are completely bypassed. UL isn’t going to stop by the Rotunda on their way back from Rugby, they’re going straight to stop 16343 by Carr’s Hill Field. NL will go straight up Emmet. It will be such a pain returning home from the libraries before midnight when Saferide starts.</p>
<p>What I did when I needed to catch the bus from the ampitheater area, was to go to the bookstore stop on Emmet street. Every bus goes by the bookstore and stops there now, so you can catch NL, CGS, ULoop, and Green there.</p>
<p>Obviously it helped that I was headed to UHall to my car, but either side of the street will take you where you are going. Annoying when you are carrying tons of stuff, but not a bad walk otherwise. It would be nice if the elevators in Newcomb were working to take that shortcut, of course with the 2 lower levels closed you have to go down the outside steps. Does the library still validate parking?</p>
<p>So apparently according to the recent email it seems that we should expect this disruption for the whole academic year.</p>
<p>You could contact VDOT about this since they actually have control over that bridge.</p>
<p>Well I wasn’t aware that individual students had the power to influence VDOT decisions. ;)</p>
<p>You never know. Posting on College Confidential about it definitely isn’t going to have any effect.</p>
<p>State transportation departments listen to state legislators. If enough Va. residents complain to their state legislators, hopefully the bridge repairs would move up in timing.</p>
<p>The state can insert strong incentives in contracts so that if the work is done sooner, the contractor is rewarded, and if it takes longer, the contractor is penalized.</p>