Workers expand a gas line underneath University Boulevard on Aug. 25.
University Boulevard commuters take notice. Starting Aug. 24, southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane for up to five days so Xcel Energy can expand gas service to Zingers restaurant.
For Zingers, the work couldn’t come too soon. Earlier this month, the new chicken nuggets and chili restaurant opened for business at 2075 S. University Blvd. but without being able to fire up all its fryers and ovens, owner Dennis Krieger says. The gas line branching to Zingers was too small.
Since then, the shop has been making due while Xcel Energy scheduled a time to dig into University Boulevard and run a bigger pipe to the restaurant. Nearly three weeks later, the schedule is set.
“We’ll be cutting into the street first at the main and then the area at the meters,” says Xcel planner Alice Borrego-Moravec.
That means southbound traffic on University will have to narrow to one lane around the 4-by-4 hole in the road and patrons of the fiveplex of businesses where Zingers operates will have to put up with a hole in the parking lot as well.
“It’s a lot of work,” Borrego-Moravec said.
Final repairs to restore University Boulevard are set for the weekend of Aug. 28–29, so traffic should be back to normal in time for rush hour on Aug. 30, she says.
Ed. Note: Xcel began work on the gas line on Aug. 24. The story has been changed to reflect Xcel’s new schedule.