TACOMA, Wash. — Two weeks after a fatal crash knocked out power for the University of Washington Tacoma and nearby businesses, the campus is set to reopen next week.
UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange said the campus will reopen on Monday unless there are unexpected issues in power restoration. Lange said UW Tacoma will continue to suspend in-person operation through Saturday before the campus' planned reopening next week.
A crash near South 21st Street and Pacific Avenue on July 6 caused a near campus-wide outage, according to UW. In-person operations were suspended between July 8-13 after the HVAC system shut down. This coincided with western Washington reaching high temperatures in the 80s and 90s throughout the week.
Lange said in a note to the community that officials would set up the generator and restore power to the entire campus. The power restoration will happen in three phases, Lange outlined in her letter.
UW Tacoma will be reconnected to the main power source in the next few weeks. Officials plan to lease switch gear to replace the gear destroyed in the crash, allowing the campus to reconnect with its main power source. Lange said this second phase will likely last for more than a year.
Lange said officials will work to design and construct a new permanent solution for power as part of its final phased plan. The third phase is expected to be finished in about 18 months, according to the chancellor.
"A reliable source of power is critical to the safety and security of our campus community," Lange said. "Knowing that 21st Street is already problematic, we will continue working with agencies and contractors to redesign and rebuild this critical power access point that meets our needs."
The crash caused extended outages for nearby Tacoma businesses because the university controls the power for the street.
Days after the crash, several affected Tacoma businesses staged an impromptu block party to help with sales. The businesses set up tables on the sidewalk and conducted as much business as possible.
"The whole idea behind the block party was to pull the community together, being able to see people and have them visit. It's helpful to have some income after being closed for six days," said Liz Van Dyke, Stocklist Goods & Gifts owner.
The business owners were preparing for the possibility that it could be weeks before power is fully restored.
"I mean, it's frustrating," Van Dyke said. "We're so small that it's alarming. It's concerning if we don't make our projected sales each week."
She is hopeful things will go back to normal on Monday.
Just a few doors down at Abella's Pizzera, they managed to dodge a bullet, and their power stayed on. Their power supply does not come from UW Tacoma.
"We got pretty lucky," said Abella's owner, James Irvine.
Still, because of the block-wide blackout, he said there is far less foot traffic than there might otherwise be.
"We definitely feel their pain, and we want to thrive together," said Irvine.