Those who work and live on Augusta University’s cramped Health Sciences Campus will finally get a new place to park with the approval of a new $36.5 million parking deck.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents voted Tuesday to allow AU to proceed with the deck, which will provide 1,350 new parking places.

“We are thrilled by the approval of this vital step in executing the university’s master plan,” AU President Brooks Keel said in a statement. “Parking emerged as a keystone of the master plan with a focus on decreasing the campus footprint, becoming more pedestrian-friendly and increasing capacity.”

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As AU has added new buildings to the campus, such as the recently opened College of Science and Mathematics building, they have frequently built on top of surface lots and reduced the available parking. Faculty and staff were often moved to remote lots around the area. Two full residence halls bring more people hunting for parking and the decision to move the Science and Math program there also added scores of undergraduates who now take classes on the campus and add to the need. AU is eying more student residences there as well.

“As we continue to grow enrollment, this achievement is necessary to provide a sustainable transportation solution for our university community,” Keel said.

The Regents’ agenda says construction on the project should begin in December but AU said a timeline will be forthcoming. The deck would be near Dental College of Georgia’s building and the residence halls in a southwestern corner of the campus currently occupied by a parking lot.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: New parking deck on AU Health Sciences Campus addresses long-term need