With dawn not yet breaking on Monday morning, Cal Poly Pomona President Soraya M. Coley wielded a pair of oversized scissors and cut a large yellow ribbon to open the realigned stretch of Kellogg Drive. She then got behind the wheel of Bronco One to test out the new asphalt.
The ribbon-cutting and drive-through at 5 a.m. capped a months-long project led by the Department of Facilities Planning, Design & Construction to prepare and construct the realigned road. About a half-hour after the ceremony, the new portion of Kellogg Drive became a state thoroughfare and open to commuters.
“I would to thank everyone who has worked so hard on this realignment project,” Coley said. “The opening of the new Kellogg Drive allows us to proceed with the next important phase for the future of Cal Poly Pomona.”
The realigned road allows room for the start of construction on the student housing complex, which consists of two eight-story mid-rise towers that contain 980 beds and encompass 280,000 square feet. A dining commons facility that can accommodate 680 people also is part of the complex.
Kellogg Drive is realigned at Red Gum Lane. Coming from the 10 Freeway, motorists will make a left turn at the intersection instead of driving straight ahead. Stop signs are present at Kellogg Drive and Red Gum Lane, and new traffic signals are scheduled to be installed by mid-September. The speed limit on the realigned road is 25 mph.
The former route of Kellogg Drive, which ran along the Residential Suites and Scolinos Field, is blocked off with large orange barriers and “Road Closed” signs. Electronic message boards and other signs are diverting traffic to the realigned road that links commuters from South Campus Drive to Red Gum Lane.
The new road may be open, but work remains. Bike lanes on realigned Kellogg Drive will open in mid-September; bikers can ride through Parking Lot B and connect to the bike path that goes into campus. A pedestrian walkway is planned on the side of the street facing the new Student Housing Replacement Project. Chinese elm trees will be planted in landscaped parkways on each side of the road in the coming months.
The new Kellogg Drive contains two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes with a center median. However, the installation of sidewalks and gutters on the new Kellogg Drive near South Campus Drive will narrow that stretch of road to one lane in each direction until Sept. 20.
At the ribbon-cutting, the president was joined by Anita R. Jessup, the president’s interim chief of staff; Walter Marquez, associate vice president of Facilities Planning & Management; Dan Johnson, director of Facilities Design & Construction; Police Chief Dario Robinson; Police Lt. Aaron Eaton; Officer Lorena Gonzalez; Mike Biagi, director of Parking and Transportation Services; and members of Sundt Construction, the contractor of the realignment project.