UCR Newsroom

UPDATE AT 11:55 P.M. PDT - May 10, 2004 -- University officials have opened the Student Recreation Center for use by evacuated students until work on the damaged gas main is completed. The University Commons has been closed for the evening.
End of Update


RIVERSIDE, Calif. — May 10, 2004 — 9:45 p.m. PDT -- (www.ucr.edu) University of California, Riverside officials report a gas main damaged at approximately 4:20 p.m. near Iowa and Linden Avenue during construction on the 60/91/215 freeway project resulted in the precautionary evacuation of approximately 1,100 students living in apartments and family housing near campus. The main campus was not affected and students in the on-campus residence halls were not evacuated.

Temporary shelter for dislocated students is available in the University’s Commons area and at the Bobby Bonds Community Center located at University Avenue and Kansas. The University is providing bus transportation between the campus and the Center and reports the Bear Grounds convenience store on campus will remain open until midnight.

Repair on the damaged main is expected to take several hours. Students are advised to check the ucr.edu for further updates.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment of over 19,000 is expected to grow to 21,000 students by 2020. The campus is planning a medical school and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Graduate Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

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