Can You Dig It?

In late summer, construction crews removed Alumni Pier and began to reshape the Mendota shoreline between the Memorial Union and the Alumni Center. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources approved the shoreline restoration, paid for with state funding. Photo: Wendy Krause Hathaway.

Campus gets a new-look lakeshore.

Construction on UW-Madison’s Lakefront Gateway began in August, as workers demolished the old Alumni Pier and began to reshape the Lake Mendota shoreline.

The gateway combines three projects at the northeast end of campus: a rehabilitation of the crumbling lakeshore, Memorial Union’s reinvestment program, and the creation of Alumni Park, a gift to campus from WAA. The shoreline area is the first section of the plan to go under the shovel.

The former Alumni Pier blocked water flow along the shore and created a polluted area near Union Terrace. Eventually, Alumni Park will add a new pier, friendly for both boaters and water currents, as well as an outdoor classroom, an arbor commemorating the Wisconsin Idea, and a walk honoring UW graduates.

The lakeshore restoration is the first phase in the construction of Alumni Park. For more information about the project, or to make a donation, visit uwalumni.com/alumnipark.

Correction: The print version of this story incorrectly said that the shoreline restoration was paid for by the Department of Natural Resources. The funding actually came from Wisconsin’s Department of Administration.

Published in the Winter 2012 issue