Tower Road, a major route for up to 20 buses traveling through the Cornell University campus, will be closed to traffic at various times and places during the summer for road construction and utility work.

To keep up efficient service, Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (Tcat) will be rerouting all buses that usually serve this area -- routes 5, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 50, 51, 55, 56, 80, 81, 83 and 84 -- to Campus Road from June 8 to Aug. 15. The temporary Campus Road bus stops will be located at Schoellkopf House, Kite Hill and on Campus Road near Wilson Laboratory for eastbound routes; and at Riley Robb Hall, the Field House and Teagle Hall for westbound routes (a map showing the temporary bus stops is on page 2). Marc Whitney, Tcat's operations manager, worked closely with Cornell's Commuter and Parking Services in arranging the temporary route.

"Thankfully, we found a way to keep the buses on their established schedules," Whitney explained. "There are a lot of riders on campus who depend on those routes every day."

In an effort to reduce the impact of the construction on transit riders, Cornell's Commuter and Parking Services also will be allowing commuters temporarily to park closer to the Campus Road bus stops by honoring "O" permits in the "K" (south of Morrison, east end of Alumni Field and on Campus Road) and "C" (the Crescent Lot next to Schoellkopf Field) areas, from June 8 to Aug. 15.

If you have any questions regarding parking and transportation issues during the construction, contact Cornell Transportation Services at (607) 255-4600.

Anyone who has handicapped-accessible transit issues due to this summer's construction can contact Brenda Kuhn, the ADA paratransit coordinator for Tcat, at (607) 277-9388, extension 450.

For general Tcat bus route, schedule and update information, call (607) 277-RIDE, or visit the Tcat web site at .