Parking and traffic changes to begin with campus road construction

Diagram of University Drive improvements (Photo courtesy of the Virginia Department of Transportation).

Parking at George Mason University will be more difficult between October 11 and 18 as the Virginia Department of Transportation mills and repaves University Drive from the Rappahannock River Deck to the baseball stadium near the Field House. There will be no parking allowed between Ox Road and Rapidan River Road, located near the West Campus lot.

In a notice to Mason students, the administration said that while construction will only be ongoing between 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., parking along this road at any time could result in fines of impoundment. Parking will still be available in the adjacent lots H, O and P.

The Rappahannock River Deck’s 2^nd level exit to University Drive will also be closed during this time. And according to Mason’s Oct. 11 Traffic and Parking Report, one of two lanes in each direction on University Drive will be closed during the following times:

• Thursday, Oct. 11 - 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• Friday, Oct. 12 - 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.
• Saturday, Oct. 13 – no lane closure
• Sunday night through Tuesday night (Oct. 14-16) - 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Meanwhile, initial improvements along Roanoke River and Braddock Road have nearly finished, with the new construction expected to begin early this month. On Braddock Road, one lane in each direction will be closed between Ox Road and Nottoway River Lane. During peak traffic, Mason Parking and Transportation advises that drivers avoid this route in favor of Roberts Road if approaching from the east, and enter the campus from Shenandoah River Lane, while drivers approaching from the west may use Mason Pond Drive or University Drive.