Funding for reconstruction of Lucinda Avenue, which DeKalb City officials warn might be unusable after 1990, will be considered at tonight’s council meeting.

DeKalb public works staff expressed concern the city will not be able to maintain the street in a usable condition after the original 1990 target date for repairs.

But reconstruction of the avenue, which was damaged by heavy bus traffic, will be postponed until after 1990 because $2.5 million to $3 million in funding has not been obtained and because of the delay in the Holmes Student Center renovation, said DeKalb City Manager Mark Stevens.

At the meeting tonight at 8 p.m., NIU officials and city staff will make a visual presentation about a design that would include a pedestrian walkway separated from the road by landscaping. This design accommodates the recommendation of a report of Sasaski and Associates, which proposed a central campus plan for NIU’s design.

About $300,000 is needed for the reconstruction during the next 10 years, Stevens said. Possible funding sources include the city, the NIU Student Association and the university. NIU’s funding might come from Build Illinois monies or other sources, Stevens said.

However, he said, the city might have to underwrite all or most of the project, assuming NIU could contribute sidewalk/pedestrian mall funds. The city’s portion might come from street bond funds or Federal Aid to Urban Sections. FAUS would provide about 15 to 25 percent of the total project cost, he said.

Stevens said he would not make a funding recommendation at the council meeting to be held at city hall, 200 S. Fourth St.

NIU’s portion of reconstruction financing is uncommitted because of the state’s inability to provide capital funding, he said.

Eddie Williams, NIU vice president for finance and planning, said, “This is a joint effort on the part of the city and the university to deal with a problem—the deterioration of Lucinda Avenue and providing adequate pedestrian lighting. We are going to look at every possible source for funding. No estimates were given (to NIU by the city) and no money was committed.”

Last May, the SA refused to provide about $140,000 in funding for the project, Stevens said. These funds would have placed no burden on students or residents and would have provided replacement buses as well as pay for part of the street repairs, he said.