Stadium Drive will get a facelift with the addition of countdown timers and stoplights at the Annie Glidden Road crosswalk.

The temporary stoplights will be replaced by permanent stoplights in June. Crosswalk timers also will be added to give pedestrians an extra safety feature.

The project is expected to be completed before the 2004-’05 school year is in session, said Michael Bauling, DeKalb project implementation engineer.

“The timers show the remaining seconds pedestrians have to cross the street before the light changes green,” Bauling said.

Countdown timers are nothing new to college campuses. University Of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign implemented countdown timers two years ago.

“The timers were well-received and are installed throughout the U of I campus,” said Glen Berger, traffic supervisor for the city of Champaign.

Although the addition of countdown timers to Stadium Drive isn’t an Illinois Department of Transportation project, the city of DeKalb has received a grant from the Federal Highway Safety Funds Project. The project is funded 90 percent through the federal grant, and the remaining funding will come from the city of DeKalb. The total cost for the stoplights and countdown timers will be $155,000.

Seventh Ward Alderman James Barr has assisted in the progress of the countdown timers.

The Stadium Drive addition is the beginning of crosswalk enhancements around the campus. Barr said he hopes the intersections on Lucinda and Lincoln Highway also will receive countdown timers.