Tire-eating potholes have been filled like cavities and debris swept away as construction on the Roberts’ Stadium Club building moves off 18th Street.
Two-way traffic is now open to drivers on the road near Midtown, relieving vehicles and pedestrians from traffic congestion on 17th Street, which is adjacent to the Swamp Restaurant.
“They were able to open up the road but may still have some lane closures as they are completing the section of the parking garage,” said Matthew Weisman, acting traffic operations manager of Gainesville Public Works.
The six-story parking garage should be able to hold 88 cars once it is finished, according to Alligator archives.
This change will mostly affect people in the College Park Apartments area because now they have another way to get to University Avenue, Weisman said.
Kristen Koon, assistant community manager of College Park, said the change is “going to make life a lot easier for everyone.” A resident of Gainesville for three years, she believes it’s going to take a while for people to get used to the street being open. Koon can’t remember it being clear of construction since she has been in Gainesville.
That’s because it has been closed off to University Avenue since about 2007, Weisman said.
“I believe the original developer actually went out of business or he decided not to pursue the project anymore, and the building actually sat there for a while not finished,” he said.
The street was open for a brief period of time when the building was up for auction. Then, an Ocala man bought the building and received permission to continue the project.
Joe Andreoli, a 21-year-old geography senior, didn’t mind the construction, though. In fact, he preferred it. He, like many of his neighbors in College Park, walks to class every day on 18th Street.
“Aside from sandstorms, it was nice having the construction because I didn’t have to look for cars,” Andreoli said.
Now, he has to be more cautious.
Although the section is only a couple hundred feet long, Weisman said, “side streets like this do a great job of sponging up traffic and distributing it better.”
Drivers can turn right and left onto University Avenue now, and it’s expected to help relieve Gainesville’s notorious football gameday traffic.
The Stadium Club started leasing units in June. The eight-story, 104-foot building offers four floors of commercial space and four floors of residential units, according to Alligator archives.
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 8/29/2013 under the headline "18th Street opens again to drivers"
