UHV, City of Victoria to host ribbon cutting for Ben Wilson Street
As the Ben Wilson Street construction nears completion, the University of Houston-Victoria and the City of Victoria will celebrate with a ribbon cutting that is open to the public.
Community members are invited to gather beginning at 1:30 p.m. inside UHV University Commons, 3006 N. Ben Wilson St., before the ceremony begins at 2 p.m. March 21. Ben Wilson Street will be closed for the ceremony, and parking is available in lot BB off Red River Street. Refreshments will be provided.
“We appreciate the tremendous work of our partners with the City of Victoria to bring this project to fruition,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “It has been a long time coming, but it is finally here. We also appreciate the patience of all our neighbors and others in Victoria who have been inconvenienced by the road construction. I believe the completed project will be a source of pride for the university and the entire Victoria community. This is truly a great day for the JAXNATION.”
During the ceremony, attendees will hear remarks from Glenn, Victoria Mayor Duane Crocker and UH System Chancellor Renu Khator.
The Ben Wilson Street project was managed by the City and funded by state bonds that will be repaid by UHV. The project architect was Freese and Nichols: Infrastructure Consulting and Engineering out of Corpus Christi, and the general contractor was MC2 Civil out of Houston. Although UHV is funding the project, Ben Wilson Street is still owned by the City of Victoria.
“This project is a testament to the City’s commitment to supporting and working with UHV for the betterment of our community,” Crocker said. “As the university continues to grow and develop, more and more bright young people from Victoria and elsewhere will choose to pursue higher education in our city. The Ben Wilson corridor project has been years in the making, representing close collaboration between the City, UHV and other stakeholders, and we hope that the community will join us in celebrating this step forward for the university and for Victoria as a whole.”
The project is centered on the section of Ben Wilson Street that divides the UHV campus from Airline Road to Red River Street. The street has been reduced to one lane in each direction, and landscaped center dividers were added from the north end of campus to Red River Street, as well as crosswalks in front of UHV University Commons.
The landscaping includes the installation of several plants and about 100 trees along the street. There also are two pedestrian crosswalks with signals to stop traffic. Two parkway signs and a tower with UHV signage welcome drivers to the UHV campus. The street also will include two bus stops, some bicycle racks and trash cans.
“One of our main goals in pursuing this project was to improve pedestrian safety along Ben Wilson Street,” said Matt Alexander, UHV director of capital projects. “It was much more than improving the look of the area. We wanted to make sure our students and other pedestrians on campus could walk across the street and along the road safely.”
Beyond road changes, the construction also made some improvements to the drainage system under Ben Wilson Street. In the past, the street tended to flood during heavy rains. The improvements that were made as part of the project have already shown positive results in reducing flooding in the area.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.