By Melissa Plowman
From midnight on Dec. 25 to midnight on Dec. 26, BYU campus roads and parking lots will be closed because of required state laws regarding public and private roads.
?Provisions of Utah state law indicate that any highway or road used continuously as a public thoroughfare for 10 consecutive years may become public property,? said Carrie Jenkins, university spokeswoman. ?We every five years.?
Lt. Greg Barber, manager of the parking and traffic office, said the university needs to close the roads or else the roads will be given over to the public, and they will lose property rights on them.
?If the university wants to tear up a road and put up a building, they need to have ownership rights over the road,? Barber said. ?Usually we close it every five years, that?s what our legal council says we need to do.?
Because the closing usually takes place on Christmas, the roads will be closed the following day in order to accommodate those still on campus.
?This year it will be done on the 26th for the church services held on campus Christmas Day,? Jenkins said. ?Usually it?s when we have the least amount of people on campus.?
Barricades will be set up with police patrolling the closed areas. Barber said sometimes there are problems with people wanting to drive on the roads.
?We have had people try and take down the barricades,? Barber said. ?What happens is they will come up to it and move it, and the officer will ask them to put the barricade back up and be escorted off. In some cases they may be issued a citation for trespassing.?
Students who live on campus and will be here during the 24 hour shut down will have access to their apartments and dorms from adjacent streets. These streets include University Parkway, 900 East and University Avenue.
?There is an access point where residents can get in and out of their homes,? Barber said. ?If they have visitors or guests coming from off campus, they are to address them to park on adjacent streets and not on campus because all roads and parking lots will be closed.?
Barber asked people to cooperate with them during this time and to not try and take down the barricades. The university tries to advertise the closure as much as possible, so people are aware and make their plans around it.
?Please honor the closure and help us out,? Barber said.