Campus Crossroads Project won't affect game day

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -

The University of Notre Dame continues work on the multimillion dollar crossroads project. Many fans may be wondering how the construction is going to affect the game day experience this season, so ABC57 went to campus to find out.

The university is one year into the project and what was once just a vision, is beginning to take shape.

"We've been able to make all of our milestones to date, and as you can see behind me, the east building, which is Corbett Family Hall, has topped out," said Doug Marsh, Associate Vice President for Facilities Design and Operations and University Architect.

Marsh says it hasn't exactly been an easy road for construction crews.

"We feel really good about where we're at with this schedule, despite some challenging weather both in the winter as well as a fairly wet spring and summer," said Marsh.
 
He says about 300 crew members have been working ten hours a day, seven days a week since the project launched eight months ago.
 
"We had folks literally forming and placing concrete at five o' clock in the morning at zero degrees or ten degrees above zero in the middle of winter in order to keep our schedule," Marsh said.

There are a series of key milestones the university would like to reach in order to complete construction by August of 2017.

The first is Notre Dame football's season opener against Texas on September 5.

"We want to get the project to the certain point where we're comfortable, and be able to entertain our well over 80,000 guests that come to the campus to enjoy our football experience," Marsh said.
 
If you're a football fan, Marsh says your game day experience will not be affected. 

Workers will be packing up and moving construction barriers the Thursday before every home game.

"All the area that's now consumed by construction will be open to the public. All that will be paved and asphalt so it's a clean site and allows everybody to have access to the gates of the building, of the stadium as they always have," Marsh said.

The same goes for traffic around the stadium on Saturdays this fall.
 
"All the roads will be open, all the parking driveways will be open and if people are used to tailgating in a certain spot, that will be accessible to them," Marsh said.
 
The $400 million project consists of more than 750,000 square feet of classrooms within Corbett Family Hall on the east, the Duncan Student Center on the west, and the music building on the south as well as additional stadium seating.
 
"It's exciting. We're really blessed to be a part of the project and to work with such skilled people," said Marsh.
 
Marsh credits the dedication and the skill of the workers with keeping the project on target.

"Particularly the devotion of the folks on site through all kinds of weather conditions, the complexity of this project, all the communications that are needed," said Marsh.
 
Marsh says the amount of parking for games and tailgating will not be limited this season and all gates will be open around the stadium on Saturdays.