The ramped-up deconstruction of Douglas Hall during winter break was the first step in extending Lucinda Avenue.

The deconstruction is part of NIU President Doug Baker’s Master Plan Thesis, an outline of ideas to improve campus. The extension of Lucinda Avenue is a part of Baker’s vision of creating a campus people can move across in 10 minutes or less.

Ken George, construction superintendent of Architectural and Engineering Services, said the plans for the road are in the final design phase. The bids for the work, in terms of what architectural design will be used for the road and the final funding for the road, are all scheduled to be received in early March. Construction will start shortly after the bids are received, with the road set to be completed by fall, George said.

The extension of Lucinda Avenue is one of the Eight Bold Ideas for the Future expressed in the Master Plan Thesis, and the objective of the road is to improve the student experience and to make the campus more pedestrian-friendly, George said. By doing so, George said, there will be a walkable path as well as a path for bikes and Huskie Bus lanes.

“I do like biking and I take it as a challenge, but … I think the most difficult part is weaving through people, so if there’s more pathways that are like pedestrian-friendly or … more [designated] bike paths, that could make it a little bit safer for everyone,” said Annastazia Camarena, senior public health major.

The creation of a bus lane along the south side of the Stevenson Towers, along the new road, will give Huskie Buses a more direct route, George said.

“I think it will be very efficient since there’s going to be a road there,” said Sherdenia Barbary, freshman chemistry and mathematical sciences major. “We don’t have to worry about going all the way around, all the way around like the Rec Center in order to get to point A and point B. So, for people who live in Stevenson it would be much easier, and for people who want to go to Stevenson it wouldn’t be that much harder.”