Roundabout construction ‘confuses’ on 1200 E. in front of the Student Living Center

Construction began on the 1200 E. roundabout on Oct. 12, with visible construction and delays starting the morning of Oct. 20. The construction plan includes closing the northbound lane to allow for installation of landscaping and some signage in the middle of the roundabout safely.  

According to the Passio GO! App, the project is projected to take three weeks, which would have it end on Nov. 2. The construction has the orange and purple bus lines detouring around the Student Living Center. Logan city buses headed northbound through the roundabout will also be diverted. 

Students did not feel informed of the roundabout construction. Many didn’t know construction was expected, with construction signage only coming out on Oct. 19. 

“It is frustrating that they did not tell us that this construction is happening because it definitely is going to affect, like, every day, because the bus is going to take longer to go around and I take the bus every day,” said Baylee Trimble, a student at Utah State University.  

First-year student Drew McKay also expressed frustration at the lack of communication saying, “It’s kind of annoying that they didn’t tell us, because now I have to plan my way around that because my sister lives in that direction.” 

Other students, mainly resident assistants and a few others, had heard about the planned construction.  

“I learned about it from my supervisor because I’m an RA,” said Alta Stott, a senior at Utah State. “They sent me a little map of what would be closed, and they said it would start happening on Monday. That would have been the 12th, and I haven’t seen any construction except for today. There are finally construction cones in the center of the roundabout.” 

The other students who knew about the construction learned a little about it through the Passio GO! public transit app, with a message about the expected detour.  

The message contained information about the start and expected time frame of the construction. 

“As a result, the South Campus and Housing routes will be detoured around the construction area. Please expect some changes to the normal route and allow a little extra time for your trip,” the message stated. 

One change is that the Housing Express, or the purple line, stop at Aggie Village 1 has moved to the corner of the street instead of its usual place at the front of the Student Living Center.  

Several other students also expressed confusion that the construction was already supposed to be started. Many mentioned the Passio GO! app had changed the bus routes and they didn’t know why.  

“I did not know until today, but I’ve been seeing it on the app for like the past week now, so I was curious what that was about. But then it never happened, so I was very confused,” said Christina Jiang, a USU student.  

Students expressed concerns about the construction, with bus timing and traffic being some of the main concerns posed by students. 

“I think a concern is just how it’s going to impact the buses and how it’s going to impact the students, like getting to work. I know it will cause a lot of traffic. Just having traffic in this area that’s just so small. It’s a one-lane area. It’s used by a lot of the students here,” said Estee Edwards, a resident assistant at the Student Living Center.  

The detour is set to go around the block of the Student Living Center, picking up at the stop in front of the Lundstrom Student Living Center and then turning left and looping around the block. 

“It’s just unfortunate for students who are in the Student Living Center because we rely on the buses to get to campus. Several of my classes take attendance, and if I’m late to class I get docked points, so I’m severely debating if I’m going to continue to take the buses,” Stott said.   

 Jiang felt similarly, saying, “I’m not sure how long that takes, but I’m certain it’s going to add a few more minutes to the clock, so I’m probably going to leave the house a little earlier, just so that it doesn’t make me miss my courses.”  

Both resident assistants expressed confusion as to why the construction is happening now.  

“It’s going to be for several weeks, and I fear this could have been done at a better time,” Stott said.  

Other students agreed it was a weird time to start construction with winter weather starting to come to campus. 

“I don’t know why they’d be doing it during this time of the school year,” Edwards said. “That’s kind of confusing to me.”