Six hundred linear feet of roadway, intersecting Knoll Road and Union Drive, may be modified to improve traffic flow and pedestrian safety.

“The area where Knoll Road and the parking ramp exit from the Memorial Union occurs is a very complicated intersection,” said Warren Madden, vice president for Business and Finance. “The road extends behind Curtiss and Union Drive.

“We’re hoping to coordinate the realignment with the construction of the new Gerdin Business Building.”

The slope of the road in front of the Gerdin Business Building will also be modified and needs resurfacing or repair, Madden said. The Board of Regents will look at the proposal at its Sept. 18-19 meeting in Iowa City.

“This project could end up costing between $800,000 and $1 million,” Madden said. “The money would come out of the institutional road funds over the next three years.”

Accounts for the project, Park and Institutional Road funds, are administered to state agencies through the Department of Transportation, said Cathy Brown, program coordinator for Facilities, Planning and Management.

Brown said the project is still a few years ahead.

“We’re looking at designing the project and bidding for construction in [2004],” she said. “We’re still in the very early phases of understanding the project.”

Though construction is planned for the summer months, Brown said construction “might overlap” into the spring or fall.

“It would be easier for the university community if we started the construction early, like in the spring, than if we had it going on in the fall when new students are here for the first time,” she said.

The construction is inconvenient but worthwhile, Brown said.

“If the end result facilitates improvement for pedestrians, the inconvenience for that period of time is definitely worth it.”

The concept for the realignment dates back to 1991’s Master Plan, Brown said.

A major benefit of the realignment would be “accomplishing greater pedestrian safety,” she said. “We anticipate less traffic and turning, reducing conflicts with pedestrians.”