Plans are under way to renovate the Simpson Running Track.

In December 2001 the State Building Commission approved $410,600 for the replacement of the track, said Terry Classen, director of facilities planning and management at UW-Eau Claire.

“The existing rubber track surface is deteriorated and delaminated from the asphalt base in many places,” Classen said, noting that the asphalt base was constructed in 1969. “Expensive repairs must be made each season just to make it safe for use.”

The track currently slopes away from the surface drains and is flush with grade, so water is not able to drain, Classen said.

Water is constantly trapped on the track, causing the surface base to deteriorate, he said.

The renovation will remove the existing deteriorated and delaminated rubber track surface. The project will involve reconstructing the existing asphalt base, grading, reshaping and using it for a slightly elevated sub-base.

A new 3-inch asphalt base with a slight slope to the inside of the track will be installed, with a polyurethane track surface, Classen said.

The project cost includes putting stripes on the surface and sod on the field areas that will be disturbed by construction.

Wire will be pulled into an existing conduit for a new track timing system, he said.

UW-Eau Claire expects that a project engineer will be selected in the next couple of months, with construction beginning in the fall, Classen said.