Starting today, construction crews will be ripping apart the pavement between the Collis Center, Robinson Hall and Thayer Dining Hall, making most of the area inaccessible during normal working hours.
Director of Facilities Planning Gordon DeWitt said the work will probably be completed by early October. Until then, the roadway between Sanborn Lane and West Wheelock Street will be closed to both automobile and foot traffic during work hours.
For most evenings and early mornings, however, the area will be open.
Once construction workers remove the asphalt, they will pour concrete, which will make the area completely impassable for about a week while the concrete sets.
"It's a real nuisance, but it's the only way to get it done," DeWitt said.
He said both Sanborn and the portion of street connecting Psi Upsilon fraternity with West Wheelock Street will be accessible.
DeWitt said the plan is to extend the concrete plaza currently lying between Collis and Robinson and connect it with the front steps of Thayer.
The plaza will be a concrete walking area with a brick border. Also, the plans feature a new sidewalk to be poured along the west side of the street.
"The big problem is truck deliveries to the back of Collis," DeWitt said.
He said Dartmouth Dining Services has been very cooperative by scheduling their deliveries to Collis for hours when construction will not be going on, during the early mornings and evenings.
This construction is part of the ongoing renovation of Robinson Hall.
