Jerrod KingeryTexas A&M University is exploring a plan to build underground transportation tunnels to help alleviate traffic congestion on campus.
The proposed project would create a tunnel system throughout campus to decrease student traffic, combining both underground and aboveground elements to achieve this.
According to the university, the A&M population has increased by about 18,000 students over the past decade, leading to bottlenecks on campus. A recent analysis by the university’s Capacity Study Committee recommends pausing undergraduate growth on the main A&M campus for the next five years because the university’s infrastructure can’t keep up.
The proposed tunnels, deemed the “Aggie Loop,” would be built in the most congested areas on campus, running from the Polo Road Garage area on east campus to the White Creek apartments on west campus.
The zero-emission system would also include six surface stations and three sub-surface stations in locations deemed pedestrian hot spots.
The tunnel project would the first of its kind on a university campus, according to a report from TV station KBTX.
“The tunnel itself would be built 30 feet below ground with a combination of aboveground and below-ground stations,” says Peter Lange, Texas A&M’s chief operating officer. “The ‘Aggie Loop’ would connect the Polo Road area of campus with the [Memorial Student Center], White Creek Apartment and Reed Arena. Transit time from Polo Road to the MSC would be two minutes and the transit time from White Creek Apartments to the Commons area would be completed in only three minutes.”
A&M says this tunnel system remains in the proposal stage, meaning the details are still up for debate and consideration.
According to a capacity report released by Texas A&M, the project would cost $250 to $300 million and take three years to complete.
Photo courtesy Blueag9
