Roble Field Parking Structure to open in late January

The Roble Field Parking Structure will open in late January.

Architect’s rendering shows the Roble Garage as seen from the Via Ortega Street entrance. (Image credit: Watry Design)

When it opens, the underground garage will hold more than 1,100 vehicles on five levels.

Meanwhile, drivers can continue to use the Searsville parking lot at the intersection of Santa Teresa Street and Campus Drive West that opened last year. The lighted surface parking lot holds more than 600 vehicles.

The new garage is in the final months of construction on the west side of campus. It’s located between the Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center and Roble Gym, which recently reopened after a renovation project.

As part of the garage project, crews are extending Via Ortega from Panama Street to Santa Teresa Street. Vehicles will enter the garage on a driveway on Via Ortega.

There will be three entry points for pedestrians: on Santa Teresa Street next to Roble Gym; at the corner of Santa Teresa Street and Via Ortega; and on Panama Street across from the Bambi Modular.

Mark Bonino, a special projects program manager in Stanford’s Department of Project Management, said the opening of the parking structure has been delayed due to construction issues beyond the university’s control. Originally, the Roble Field Parking Structure was expected to open in the fall.

“The work has been extended three months primarily because it took longer than anticipated to backfill the perimeter of the site, due to tight site boundaries and technical limitations on how it could be backfilled,” Bonino said. “Much of the work has been done by hand or with small machinery. It was a bit like filling a swimming pool with a teaspoon.”

Currently, crews are working on the elevators and the pedestrian entry structures located on three corners of the site, as well as the Via Ortega extension.

Bonino said crews will begin restoring Roble Field to a grass recreation open space in November. The field is expected to be completed by February.