By Susan HaineSenior Staff Writer

Throughout the semester, students who regularly use the footbridgethat leads into Aztec Center may notice a few changes.

Part of the footbridge is now wooden, and many of the trees thatused to stand over it have vanished.

These changes are due to trolley construction, and moredevelopments are on the way.

One of the more immediate changes to the campus will be a new,temporary footbridge into Aztec Center. The original footbridge needsto be torn down to make room for construction workers to work on thetrolley.

According to officials, this work will probably be done overWinter Break. However, work on the new bridge and destruction of theold one may start in the early weeks of December.

Project Architect Clayton Kraft said access to campus from thisarea will not be impacted by these new developments.

“They’ll keep the existing bridge open and then they’ll installthe new, temporary bridge,” he said. “The temporary bridge will beavailable when they pull down the old bridge. It’s a transitionsituation so there will be access over College (Avenue) at alltimes.”

The temporary bridge will be situated south of the currentstructure, where Aztec Circle Drive merges onto College Avenue.

The temporary bridge is a measure taken so construction workershave access to the area in front of Aztec Center, where the currentfootbridge leads. During nighttime construction, workers will do somedemolition work and drilling to ready the area for the new trolleystation.

College Avenue will be closed for about two weekends because ofthis construction — the first closure will be to erect the temporarystructure and the second will be to tear down the existing bridge.

“This has always been a situation that was known,” Kraft said.”They will close College Avenue to put up the temporary bridge,because there are some big structures that have to go up and thenthey’ll also close it to take down the old bridge.”

Over the next few months, another structure will be raised leadinginto Aztec Center — an enclosed walkway.

It will run about 100 feet along the sound wall, from the end ofthe new pedestrian bridge, and will end at the entrance to AztecCenter.

“It will be enclosed in order to protect folks for their safety,”Jack Beresford, university spokesman, said. “There will be somewindows in it so you can see what’s going on with the construction,too.”

As for the trees, they will return after construction iscompleted.

“Folks may have seen near the pedestrian bridge there is going tobe a lot of activity, and in order to move ahead with that work, someof the trees were moved,” Beresford said.

“There are a number of trees being kept right now near Tony GwynnStadium in pots that are going to be replanted when the project isdone.”

The Aztec Green, which is centered between Adams Humanities andAztec Center, should also reopen within the next year.

The trolley construction will extend lines from Mission Valley toLa Mesa. It will run through tunnels under the campus, entering atthe corner of Canyon Crest Drive and Aztec Circle Drive. A trolleystation will be built 50 feet underneath Aztec Walkway.

Trolley construction began on campus in Fall 2000. It is scheduledto be completed in December 2004 and operation will begin in early2005.