HUNTINGTON — Vehicle and pedestrian traffic on a busy portion of 3rd Avenue will be limited for the rest of this week.
Tuesday marked the first full day of the closure of the 900 block of 3rd Avenue, between 9th and 10th Streets in front of Pullman Square.
Construction of Marshall University’s new Visual Arts Center in the former Stone and Thomas building will force traffic detours until Friday, Oct. 18, said Don Van Horn, dean of Marshall’s College of Arts and Media. Both east- and westbound lanes of traffic are being detoured to Veterans Memorial Boulevard or 9th and 10th streets to avoid the 900 block of 3rd Avenue.
The sidewalk immediately in front of the building also is closed, meaning that pedestrians will have to cross the street to Pullman Square to travel between 9th and 10th Streets.
A large crane is assembled in the 900 block of 3rd Avenue for the construction of Marshall University’s new visual arts center on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, in downtown Huntington.
A large crane will be in use on 3rd Avenue until Friday to lift HVAC and other equipment to the roof of the building. The crane will be taken down and removed at the end of the work day Friday if everything goes according to plan, said Chad Johnson, vice president of Neighborgall Construction Co.
Van Horn said he talked to local business owners prior to the detour.
“I visited with the shop owners between 9th and 10th Streets to alert them about what was happening, and they were all thrilled with the progress,” he said. “The goal is to protect peole and keep them from being in harm’s way. It’s for three or four days, and that simply is the price of progress.”
Oct. 16, 2013 @ 12:00 AM
Lori Wolfe/The Herald-Dispatch
