One of the many complaints from Kent State students is that there is constant construction on campus.  That will not be changing anytime soon as a huge construction project that has been in planning for over ten years is scheduled to begin this summer.  Reporter Rex Smith has the story.

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<Reporter>

Summit Street currently looks completely normal, but that will be changing this summer when a two-year construction plan called the Summit Street Project begins.

Phase one of the construction will extend from this intersection at Summit and Loop Road to the Student Center, while phase two will go from the Student Center all the way down to this intersection at Summit and Lincoln Street.

This intersection by the Rec and this intersection at Summit and Risman Drive will both be turned into roundabouts.

The hill grade seen here by Terrace Drive will be reduced for better visability.

There will only be one way traffic headed east bound for the duration of the construction, and this parking lot where many commuters park will lose almost three hundred parking spaces!

This construction is something that many students are not happy about.

<SOT>

I think this project really stinks.

<SOT>

It’s a bad idea in my opinion.

<SOT>

Now that I’m going to have to go a whole other way it’s only going to make it more insane.

<Standup>

While many students see this as a huge problem, others see this as an opportunity for improvement.

<Reporter>

Joe Yensel is the Director of Information and Technology at PARTA.

He has been a part of the planning process for the Summit Street Project since the early 2000’s and he has a different take when it comes to the future construction.

<SOT>

It’s a lot of work to change all of your routes, but it’s giving us the opportunity to review those and say ‘is this the right way to do it’ or ‘is this a better way to do it’ and I think when the project is all said and done, the positives we’ve kind of lived through all of this, you can call it pain, or inconvenience, or whatever, I think it’s going to be great.

<Reporter>

There is no doubt that there are mixed emotions about the forthcoming Summit Street Project.

It may cause many headaches and complaints along the way, but hopefully in the end it is a much better and safer road for all.

For TV2 KSU, I’m Rex Smith.