Resurfacing and drainage improvements on a major campus road will force motorists and bicyclists to find alternative routes to the west-central UC Davis campus this summer.

People needing to access west-central area should use the Hutchison Drive exit from Highway 113 over the next several weeks due to closure of LaRue Road near the Arboretum Headquarters, reports the Office of Architects and Engineers.

The project, expected to begin as soon as this week, should be finished by Sept. 18 in time for the fall quarter, according to Jill Tomczyk, associate project manager for the Office of Architects and Engineers.

A short stretch of LaRue Road between the extension of California Avenue and parking lot 46 (next to Meyer Hall) is being resurfaced and its drainage system improved. The construction will be in front of the Arboretum Headquarters and Environmental Health and Safety offices. The entrance to the parking lot will remain open.

The project is expected to disrupt traffic to the south-central campus since it will close off access to the west-central campus through the Old Davis Road exit off Interstate 80 via LaRue Road near California Avenue.

After an initial three-week closure, LaRue will be reopened to one lane of traffic for up to three more weeks. Traffic controls will be placed at the California Avenue/LaRue Road intersection, the California Avenue Bridge and at the entry to parking lot 46.

During the summer maintenance project, the California Avenue Bridge over the Arboretum Waterway will remain open (although the bridge will be repaved, too). Those needing to access the Employment Office, Academic Surge, Central Receiving and the Physical Plant will be able to use California Avenue.