Bridgeway Commons, the newest residence hall on the UW–Platteville campus, will be ready when students return for the fall semester.

The new 440-bed residence hall is located adjacent to Southwest Hall.

Construction on Bridgeway Commons began in mid-August 2012. C.D. Smith of Fond du Lac is the developer for the project, the same firm that worked on the Rountree Commons residence hall that opened in 2012.

“It’s amazing that they were able to accomplish what they did with basically an 11-month timeline,” said Bill Kloster, director of the UW–Platteville Real Estate Foundation.

According to Kloster, the involvement of the real estate foundation during the previous couple of years has expedited the residence hall construction process.

“We have been able to put up 1,060 new residence hall beds and a dining facility on campus,” he said.

All of the systems inside Bridgeway Commons are being tested, to make sure they operate correctly.

Bridegway Commons will be home to primarily freshman and sophomore students. Each unit will be fully furnished and will include two double-occupancy bedrooms, which will share a common bathroom.

Artwork produced by UW–Platteville students has been installed at Bridgeway Commons.

The new residence hall includes five floors, plus the lower level, which will be home to a new dining facility and support services. The main level will include housing and a common area with a fireplace. The remaining levels will contain student housing.

The dining facility can feed up to 450 to 500 students at one time.

In addition to the dining facility, Bridgeway Commons will also include a Jamba Juice.

Each bedroom will have high-speed Internet access. Each floor includes a kitchen, lounge and laundry facilities. In addition, Bridgeway Commons will be home to the Healthy Living Interest Community, which will include specific programming targeted at a healthy lifestyle.

A grand opening is planned for Thursday, Aug. 29 at 11:30 a.m.