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January 16 , 2007
Eagle Row realignment soars

By david payne

The realignment of Eagle Row is a significant piece in Emory’s Master Plan, which calls for ”strengthening on-campus living/learning communities.” The new Eagle Row will enable Emory’s Freshman Village project to flourish.

The realignment of the north end of Eagle Row is expected to be completed by early summer. Eagle Row is being shifted to the north to increase space available for the development of Emory’s Freshman Village, a project that started in 2005 and will include the opening of its first new residence hall, Turman Hall (at the Longstreet parking lot), in July. Ultimately, Freshman Village will include up to ten new freshman dorms and consolidate Emory’s freshman class to a central location on campus.

The second phase of adjustment to Eagle Row involves the alignment between North Oxford Road and Dickey Drive. That project will include the demolition of Gilbert and Thomson Halls to make room for the new psychology building. Demolition will begin this summer and continue through the early fall.


New route to remain pedestrian friendly
Eagle Row is being straightened and shifted beginning at Sorority Village to connect directly into what is now Asbury Circle near The Depot. When the project is completed this spring, Eagle Row will continue past Sorority Village, the Campus Services buildings and The Depot to connect with Clifton Road at Woodruff Health Sciences Center Administration Building.

The extended Eagle Row will continue to have two lanes, sidewalks, bike lanes, as well as a low speed limit and traffic calming improvements.

Asbury Circle will be reduced to a short, limited access service road that will swing off of Eagle Row in front of Trimble Hall.



Removal of Emory water tower
While the removal of Emory’s Water Tower is not essential to the realignment of Eagle Row, it will improve access along the Row. After learning that structural and cosmetic improvements were needed in order to maintain the 73-year old tower and that those improvements were going to cost several hundred thousands of dollars, the University decided to dismantle the structure. Campus Services, which is managing the demolition, will recycle the considerable amount of steel in the tower. The tower has not contained water since the 1980s and is scheduled for removal in January.

Reconfiguration of underground steam services
Many of Emory’s buildings are heated by steam generated on campus. An underground maze of eight-foot tunnels was built in the 1920s and serves as a “spine” of tunnels that provides steam heat. The steam line to the central laundry facility will be cut off before that building is demolished, and new lines will be connected to Trimble, Longstreet and Means Halls.

This project began the last week of November and is scheduled for completion by mid-January.

Removal of the central laundry facility
The new section of Eagle Row will run directly across what is currently the central laundry facility next to The Depot. Demolition of this building, which was built in 1964, will begin in January and will run into early February. This facility processed eight million pounds of laundry last year, work that will be outsourced in the future. All Emory employees who worked at this facility have been placed in other departmental positions.

Once this building is removed, a retaining wall will be built along the edge of the new road, several trees will be removed, and fill dirt will be added to increase the elevation of the former laundry site. The road site was chosen because it affects the fewest number of trees possible and provides the largest usable site for the future residence halls.

In keeping with Emory’s “no net loss of forest canopy” policy, the trees will be replaced by trees with the same canopy spread. Any replacement trees that cannot be replanted immediately will be earmarked in a “tree bank fund” that is set aside solely to restore Emory’s forest canopy.

New road construction and connection
Following the demolition of the central laundry facility, a section of new road will be built on that site, which will connect the existing Eagle Row from Sorority Village to Asbury Circle near The Depot.

Following a month of installation of underground utilities beneath the new roadway, the new road should begin to take final form in May. Also in May, road signs will be added as this new segment is connected with existing roadways to form the realigned Eagle Row. Landscaping will be added after the summer.

This project will be completed following Commencement activities in May. The project schedule is based on certain weather assumptions that will allow for a steady work pace. If there are delays, the project can be stopped during Commencement activities and be resumed following those activities.


Timeline of work
• Reconfiguration of underground steam services to dorms: November 2006 to mid-January 2007
• Water tower removal: January 2007
• Demolition of the laundry facility: January to February 2007
• Road realignment and reconnection: February to early summer 2007
(scheduling is approximate and based on the weather)

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