Work is underway on a project designed to curb jaywalking across Normal Road near the Holmes Student Center.

According to the Normal Road Pedestrian Control Project, several large landscaped natural barriers will run along the road and culminate at limestone sections approaching each crosswalk.

The beds of landscape brush will be about five feet long and two feet tall. The surrounding limestone sections will run from the landscape and will be about two feet high.

The plan is to safely channel pedestrian traffic to designated crosswalks along Normal Road. The safety concerns of the area evolved with increasing urgency as the estimated 20,000 people that cross the street daily resulted in two 1989 pedestrian accidents.

Eddie Williams, vice president of Finance and Planning, said that the multi-faceted development of the area will include sloped embankments with evergreens and high resilience plants to add an aesthetic touch.

“We want the additions to beautify the area and make it inconvenient for people to walk over,” Williams said.

The choice of limestone is a direct result of NIU’s desire to make limestone a campus standard. Limestone also appears in the Williston-Adams Corridor and is abundant along Swen Parson Hall.

Williams said the project was being entertained as a joint venture between DeKalb and NIU for the last two years.

“The Carroll Avenue situation was a real mess with students, bus traffic and cars,” Williams said. “We needed to close it for a number of reasons, and it resulted in a small increase in Normal Avenue traffic.”

The overall cost of the project will be split between the city of DeKalb and NIU’s General Revenue Fund. The total cost of the phase is $70,000 to $80,000, with the city providing about 30 to 35 percent, or about $26,000.

Approved through the Board of Regents, the money will be used in a variety of construction alterations.

“A lot of work will be directed at moving sidewalks, sewer covers (and) chopping up the area,” Williams said.

Attention is being placed on making the corridor a warm, attractive area that students will be pleased to avoid enroute to their destinations. However, Williams said he realizes careless students could subvert the longevity of a beautiful barrier.

“In a free society, people have to cooperate to make this project a safe and successful one,” Williams said.