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Phase one of a two-year remodeling project of Summit Street will begin this summer once it warms up outside.

The purpose of this lengthy project that began planning in 2006 is to reduce congestion and accidents on Summit Street.

The project will extend from the intersection of Lincoln and Summit all the way to the intersection of Summit and Loop Road.

Roundabouts will replace two intersections while bike lanes and two non-intersection crosswalks will be added.

Phase one of the project will focus on the eastern part of Summit Street from the student center to Loop Road.

During the construction only one lane of east bound traffic will be open.

Manager at Parking Services, Larry Emling, says that the only real parking that will be lost during phase one is the northern lot at the Rec Center; however, during phase two almost three hundred parking spaces will be lost in the Campus Commuter Lot.

Phase two will also include a reduction in the hill grade near Terrace Drive so cars turning on to Summit from Terrace will have better visability.

This project will take 16.4 million dollars to complete; however, 80 percent of it will be funded by the state while the remaining 20 percent will be split evenly between KSU and the city of Kent.

This project may be a cause for many headaches and student complaints, but hopefully in the end it makes everyone’s lives a little bit easier and safer.

For Broadcast Beat Reporting, I’m Rex Smith.