A $100,000 project to tear down and rebuild four on-campus crosswalks to increase driver and pedestrian visibility will begin during winter break.The renovations, which include changing pavement textures and adding street lights, could spread to more campus crosswalks — including several deemed unsafe by the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation — depending on evaluations of the four prototype locations.The four construction locations include South Stadium Drive at West Stadium Drive, North Stadium Drive at West Stadium Drive, Dalrymple Drive at Infirmary Drive and South Campus Drive near the Laville residence halls.Jason Soileau, assistant director of the Office of Facility Development, said he worked with the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation to identify four locations to introduce the new prototype.The crosswalk near Infirmary Drive will be torn down and moved about 50 feet east to create better    pedestrian visibility, Soileau said.The crosswalks were chosen because of the high chances of potential vehicle and pedestrian issues, said Gary Graham, director of Parking, Traffic and Transportation.”Infirmary [Drive] was one that was a big concern because of the current location of the crosswalk behind the [Easy Streets] booth,” Graham said. “We were trying to find areas that were highly utilized and needed some special attention.”The project will pull out the existing asphalt and lay decorative concrete pavers  — similar to the crosswalks at the traffic circle near the Journalism Building.”That is not just for aesthetics,” Soileau said. “It changes the landscape so drivers see something different.”Soileau said Facility Development is planning to install lamp posts at these crosswalks to increase visibility for drivers and pedestrians.”It shines down, so it reduces the glare on the driver’s eyes,” he said.Dennis Mitchell, campus landscape architect, said the new lamp posts will be “extra-illuminating.””There are lights on the roadways,” he said. “We’re just adding lights on the roadways to highlight crosswalks.”Planning began March 18 for the project. It received a bid and will cost about $20,000 per crosswalk.”It will go into construction very soon,” Mitchell said. “For the most part, it will be finished over Christmas break.”The construction was planned to start over the holidays because there are very few people on campus at that time, Mitchell said.Soileau said the initial project will allow the University to determine how long construction will take and learn what to expect in the next phase.”Assuming it works the way we anticipate, the intent is to go campus wide with this new prototype — pending funding,” he said.Graham said after the construction, the University will evaluate the crosswalks to see if something was left out, if too much was done or if improvements could be made.”This way, we’re getting four done that we can evaluate its usefulness, visibility, cost and upkeep,” Graham said. “Then, we can go from there.”The University has been working with city traffic engineers to design a pedestrian corridor on Highland Road, which is a city-owned street.”The city traffic engineer suggested specifically that we bring pedestrians to the intersections that have traffic lights,” Soileau said.Soileau said the University and the city determined mid-block crosswalks on Highland Road are unsafe.The new corridor, which is still in early planning, will link the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, The Faculty Club, the residence halls and the new parking garage and bookstore.”The crosswalk on Highland is a result of a sidewalk that was placed years ago in the wrong location,” Mitchell said. “We’re going to design the path so that they … will be sweeping and directional to the intersections where it will not be obvious to cross the street mid-block.”Soileau said the city requested the University get rid of the crosswalk on Highland near the Union.”That crossing is confusing to students [because] most streets on campus are owned by LSU, meaning that we give right of way to pedestrians,” he said. “The city does not give pedestrians the right of way. It’s a very dangerous situation.”The Highland Road Corridor will create a “vegetative barrier” by moving the sidewalk behind the oak trees rather than directly adjacent to the street.The University is working with the city to time the traffic lights so it has a pedestrian-only crossing cycle.Mitchell said these projects follow the University’s Master Plan, which will transform the University into a strictly pedestrian campus.Soileau said the Highland Road Corridor will need to be approved by Chancellor Michael Martin, and construction is dependent upon funding. —-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]