August 20, 2009 – Facilities Management Business Services has completed work on a new Web site just in time for the beginning of the fall semester. The site contains an interactive map that will make it much easier for students, faculty, staff, and visitors to avoid construction delays. People visiting the site located at http://constructionimpacts.utah.edu will first see a tip box explaining some of its functions.
“We hope anyone who travels to campus will bookmark this site and use it before beginning their trip,” said project manager Darrin Blaisdell. “Many areas of campus are under construction and some other projects are planned that have not yet begun which will cause future traffic rerouting. The information on the site will be updated weekly or even daily, if needed.”
One of the main features of the map is the addition of red triangle alerts located where traffic congestion or road closures are expected to occur. Users can move their computer mouse over the symbols to get the time frame and description of the traffic impact. Also available is queries function; the application will display where construction will be occurring on campus at a particular date chosen by the user. In addition, yellow construction zones show active areas of construction with vehicles and heavy equipment operating and layers in the map showing different views that can be turned on making them visible by clicking on the “set visible layers” button and then clicking the appropriate box to display the desired layer.
The new Web site is now live for people to use, but will soon receive software enhancements to make it even more user-friendly. One upcoming feature is a “beginning-to-end” route finder. People will be able to enter a starting location where they intend to begin their trip on campus, and then enter an end location on campus, and a route will be displayed. The suggested path of travel will show the pedestrian or motor vehicle the fastest possible route with the least amount of construction impacts.
Disabled travelers will also benefit from the new software addition. Once the start and finish points are entered, the route will display the best possible path of travel free from stairs and friendly to wheelchairs.
A flash video of the site has been prepared with a brief demonstration of how it works and some of its most important features. To see the flash presentation, please visit: http://www.digit.utah.edu/cit/html/construction_impacts.swf.html.