The first major road work associated with the Lucinda Avenue renovation project will force one block of Lucinda Avenue to be closed for more than one month.

Lucinda Avenue will be closed for one block from Normal Road to Garden Road from March 30 until May 10.

The affected area is on Lucinda Avenue between the visitor

parking lot and Adams and Wirtz Halls.

NIU Planning Associate Patrick Bell said the road will be closed while a steam tunnel, which will serve the Campus Life Building, is constructed under Lucinda Avenue.

“We have to get the steam tunnel built now in order to be out of the way when the major road construction begins in May,” Bell said.

“We have a restricted time window to work in,” he said. “NIU and all the utility contractors have to have all their work completed by May 10 so the road construction can begin.”

Bell said the work is being done now to avoid ripping up Lucinda Avenue after it has been renovated.

A detour will take traffic around the construction site using Garden Road, Newman Drive and Normal Road. The detour uses the roads which border the visitor parking lot.

Bell said the road closing should only limit parking in Lot 7, between Adams Hall and the Public Safety and Telecommunications Building.

Charlie Battista, Huskie Line general manager, said the closing will not affect the heavy bus routes, but will affect routes 2, 6 and 5.

“Two of those routes are town routes and they have more scheduled running time, so they should be able to absorb any traffic problems that come about, along with the other route,”

attista said.

“This really should not create any major scheduling changes,” he said. “We will have route changes for next year to compensate for the Lucinda revovation and all the other construction around campus.”

Mike Malone, assistant to the vice president for University Relations, said pedestrian and automobile traffic should be able to get around the area without many problems.

Malone said his department will keep on top of the situation and will get information regarding the project out as quickly as possible.