The countdown is on for the much-anticipated construction in January on the Wisconsin Avenue bridge between North 10th and North 11th streets.

To keep students updated on this phase of the Marquette Interchange Project, Toby Peters, associate vice president in the Office of Administration, spoke to Straz Tower's Hall Council members Tuesday night.

The bridge will be torn down in the first weeks of January 2006, according to Peters, with the noisiest work scheduled to finish before students begin the spring semester.

At the council meeting, Peters answered questions about the re-routing of pathways to changes in food service for Straz Tower.

Though the loudest component of the project will not affect students, construction on the bridge is expected to continue through the fall 2006 semester. To accommodate students living in Straz, an alternate walkway will be made on Clybourn Street.

"There will be a well-lit, safe passage through Clybourn to west campus," Peters said. "We're going to push very hard to stick to our guns on that."

The street will be handicap-accessible, regularly salted and shoveled and have a mobile blue light phone, he said. The Department of Public Safety also will monitor the passage.

Clybourn may be closed from time to time during the construction, Peters said. In that case, 10th Street will have pedestrian access to West Wells Street, though Peters said he would have to check on getting more lighting there.

To inform students quickly of routing changes, Peters will utilize Axis TV at the Straz reception desk to alert students when "something is not right on Clybourn."

"We'll do our best to keep Clybourn open as much as possible," Peters said. "It will be shut down overnight at most."

Peters also addressed questions concerning weekend meal plans at Straz, which are not currently available. He said Straz Tower will have grab-and-go meal choices on Friday nights and on Saturday and Sunday for brunch and dinner.

The inclement weather location for Straz residents to evacuate in case of a fire drill is also a concern. The current location is at Sensenbrenner Hall, according to Christy Bergen, residence hall director for Straz.

When asked by Bergen whether the location would be changed after the bridge went out, Peters said he would have to investigate the matter further.

Though not everything is worked out yet, Peters said he feels confident in Marquette's ability to accommodate the situation.

Bergen is pleased with the university's response to the construction.

"They're doing a great job," she said. "I know (Peters) was just here to inform, but I was impressed with the questions the students asked."

Allie Craft, president of Straz Hall Council and a sophomore in the College of Communication, appreciated being kept up to date on the project.

"Personally, I felt like I knew a lot of the information, but I've done a lot of research, so I don't know if everyone else here knew everything," Craft said. "I think (the university) has been pretty complete in getting out the information. It will be inconvenient, but if people know what's going on it won't be as bad."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 13, 2005.