The third and final phase of the Campus Drive redesign project at BYU is underway and planned to be completed by the end of the summer.
Workers will be improving the intersection at Bulldog Boulevard and Campus Drive in an effort to make that northwest corner of campus safer for pedestrian, bicycle and car traffic.
Construction crews will move the entire intersection slightly to the east, alter turning lanes and add a tree-lined median on West Campus Drive between the Marriott Center and the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Vistors Center.
The entrances and exits of the parking lot north of the Jesse Knight Building will be reconfigured to allow students, faculty, and visitors easier access to the current pick-up and drop-off spot next to the University Police office.
Additional plans for the final construction phase include a pedestrian walkway from the Smoot Administration Building heading west across Campus Drive to the Hinckley Center.
The intersection of Campus Drive and 1230 North as it will look after construction work. (BYU University Communications)
Emily Hellewell, campus news manager, said shifting the intersection will improve visibility for drivers coming up the hill on Bulldog Boulevard towards Campus Drive.
The intersection's current right-hand turning lanes will be separated from through-traffic by medians on all four corners, which will provide increased safety for pedestrians.
Hinckley Center building coordinator Linda Thomas said there will always be a lane open for traffic during this summer's construction, and parking will be available in the lot north of the Jesse Knight Building.
'We will be doing all we can to provide easy and safe access to the Hinckley Center,' Thomas said, noting that the construction's impact this summer should be minimal.
The Campus Drive redesign project was announced in January 2013.
The first phase was completed during August 2013, when East Campus Drive was closed off between the J. Reuben Clark Law Building and the Wilkinson Student Center to create a pedestrian-friendly plaza and a traffic roundabout for easy student drop-off.
The second phase permanently closed off vehicular traffic on North Campus Drive during the spring of 2015. The drive now ends at the entrance to the Museum of Art parking lot. This phase also included the construction of a sidewalk on the south side of 1230 North, ending at the Hinckley Center.
The third phase of the project will remove some parking spots in the northwest end of the parking lot north of the Jesse Knight Building this summer. Despite the loss of spaces in this lot, there will be a small net gain of parking spaces once the phase of the Campus Drive redesign is complete.