ISU classrooms, streets get makeover

If you’ve tried driving down Martin Luther King Jr. Way lately, you’ll know big changes are underway on the Idaho State University campus.

All of MLK Jr. Way between 8th Avenue and Reed Gym has been closed to traffic for an entire month as ISU begins the process of narrowing the road and adding bike lanes and wider sidewalks.

They’ll also be adding landscaped strips known as bioswales, which will be fully irrigated by naturally-occurring stormwater.

“When the water runs down the street, the stormwater, it’ll be filtered in through those landscaped areas,” said Cheryl Hanson, ISU’s director of Engineering, Planning and Environmental.

About 20 ISU classrooms have also undergone makeovers, including a 267-seat lecture hall in the Physical Sciences Building.

“The lotto chairs were not functional. They were broken or missing pieces. The carpet was threadbare,” said Hanson.

ISU has replaced the broken chairs and put in new carpet.

The school has also added energy efficient LED lights controlled by a touchscreen panel at the lectern.

“It enables us to use about a quarter of the power that we did before,” said Hanson.

Other changes on campus include renovations in the Holt Arena restrooms and upgrades to 9th Avenue, which will become one-way in front of the library.

ISU had hoped to have the upgrades finished by the end of the summer, but Hanson said it could take them into the fall semester.