The rains have done little to slow University Drive reconstruction and neither has the recent heat wave as Northern Improvement crews continue progress toward a November completion of the mile-long project.

Crews currently are cutting the gravel base of the west-side lanes, preparing for Atlas to put in curb and gutter by the end of this week, according to Northern spokesman Bruce Thompson.

"Once the curb and gutter is poured it will have to set a few days to cure," Thompson said. "Then we'll come in, trim the gravel base and start laying asphalt, which will probably take plus or minus three or four days.

Because of the grade differentials at the intersections of Denver and Wachter avenues, signs will be put up warning anyone wanting to use the bike path. Crossing at the intersections could be treacherous for the unwary because of the drop-offs until the asphalt is put in and blended with the grades of the avenues.

Wachter Avenue will remain open while the asphalt is being laid, with the exception of when the asphalt is put down at the intersection.

Denver, which is now closed, will remain closed until the work on the west side is complete and traffic is switched over.

Hopes are to have the west-side lanes complete by the end of July, allowing for Northern to switch traffic from the east side the first week in August. The barriers will be moved and work will begin to remove the old asphalt. Cofell Plumbing and Heating will then move in to finish the storm sewer project and other underground work.

Thompson expects the work on the east side to proceed at a quicker pace than the west since the underground work will be less extensive. The remaining concrete portion at the intersection with Bismarck Expressway won't be poured until the traffic switch.

Access to the mobile home court on the project's east side may be limited, according to Thompson, as Northern expects there may be as much as a 2-foot grade differential from the street to the access.

"First we'll look at the grade difference from the existing access to the new asphalt. People may find that sometimes the accesses are open and sometimes closed," Thompson says.

Access to the businesses at the south end will remain open. They are served by a frontage road which stays open all the time, but access to the frontage may be by passing through the mobile home court.

Construction still will be under way when school starts at the end of August. Traffic signals at Denver and Wachter won't be installed until near the project's completion, Thompson said.