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New west parking structure opens today

Will alleviate loss of parking near Otowi Building, Study Center

The new 337-space TA-3 West parking garage opens today. The structure will help address concerns about parking from Lab employees who work in and around Technical Area 3.

Meanwhile, a task force created by Jim Holt, associate director for operations (ADO) is addressing near- and long-term parking issues within TA-3.

The TA-3 West parking facility is located on West Mercury Road on the west side of TA-3, west of SM-31. Next month, an additional 80 surface parking spaces will be available when the company that built the parking garage removes its equipment.

" The new parking structure has something employees said was important during informal surveys over the past few weeks," said Randy Parks of Infrastructure, Facilities and Construction (IFC). "Cars entering and leaving the facility will be counted electronically. When the garage is full, information will be displayed on a sign at the entrance, saving employees the time of hunting from level to level for a space that doesn't exist," he said.

The TA-3 West structure opens one week prior to the shutdown on April 17 of the surface parking lot east of the Otowi Building and north of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center. Parks said 280 surface spaces will be lost in that lot.

Lab workers at TA-3 who now park in this lot are encouraged to use shuttles, car pools or park in other lots. Even with this lot closing, total parking spaces within TA-3 will be higher than the number that existed April 1, Parks said.

A map published in the April 1 Daily Newsbulletin shows available shuttles and their times.

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