Harvard Alters Paths of 2 Roads As Part of Law School Mall Plan

The University has changed the paths of two temporary roads in order to avoid the sandwiching of Littauer Center between two fast-moving streams of traffic.

The roads will be built to allow the construction of Harvard's $2.8 million mall-underpass project that will connect the northern part of the Yard and the Law School.

As originally planned, the temporary roads, carrying traffic coming West from Broadway and North from Harvard Square on Peabody St., would have almost touched Littauer Center on two sides. The road coming from Harvard Square was to come within 40 ft. of the front of Littauer and then veer to the East. The other was to pass within 15 ft. of Littauer's back steps.

Because of objections by members of the Littauer staff, the plans have been changed. The road originally planned to run behind Littauer has been moved to the front.

The changes will mean, however, that a large part of the trees and greenery in front of Littauer will have to be removed for the road construction. After the underpass is completed and the temporary roadways are no longer needed, new trees will be planted.

It will not be for some months--maybe not until a year from this summer--that the roads will be needed. Before construction can begin on the actual bypass, all utilities in the area must be moved and this is expected to take some time.

The project will probably not be completed for 18 to 24 months. It calls for the construction of a 400 ft. underpass that will stretch from the front of Memorial Hall to the front of Littauer. The construction of the underpass will permit the closing of part of Kirkland St. behind Mem Hall and the creation of a continuous mall from the Yard to the Law School.

Harvard gained approval for the project last December, when the Cambridge City Council allowed the closed-off portion of Kirkland St. to be transferred back to the University.

One of the main purposes the University has undertaken the project is to give it additional flexibility to build two new buildings between Littauer and Memorial Halls. Lawrence Hall, adjacent to Littauer, will be razed to make way for the new International Studies Building. On the corner of Kirkland and Oxford Streets, across from Lowell Lecture Hall, Harvard contemplates the construction of a large new undergraduate science center.

The project was made possible by a traffic study several years ago that recommended the elimination of the bottleneck caused by the conversion of thre roads in front of Littauer.