Detour ahead: Denison main entrance to close Jan. 1 for most of the coming year

Denison University will ring in the new year by closing its main entrance.

For eight months.

Why?

The roadway from the main entrance to the campus on top of the hill, known as Presidents’ Drive, will be affected by a project to renovate and build an addition to Doane Hall, according to a memo the university sent this week to faculty and staff.

“The temporary closure is necessary to accommodate the construction of underground utilities, foundation excavation, crane operations, and large material deliveries,” Jake Preston, Denison’s director of physical plant and capital projects, said in a statement. “Heavy traffic will be ongoing, preventing access to other vehicles.”

The main entrance is at the north end of N. Main Street, a block north of downtown Granville. Presidents’ Drive will close on Jan. 1 and reopen in August as classes begin for the 2025-26 school year.

So when seniors leave campus at the end of this semester for winter break in another week or so, it will be the last time they will have the opportunity to travel down that street.

The good news is that during the eight months it is closed, the narrow, winding, bumpy roadway from the main entrance to campus will be widened and repaved.

During the closure, there are other ways to enter the campus by vehicle – mainly the East Gate on Washington Drive at Pearl Street (Rt. 661), a few blocks north of downtown Granville. The university is directing visitors and anyone making deliveries to use that entrance. A secondary entrance on the west side of campus is the West Gate at Thresher and Burg streets.

Presidents’ Drive will be closed to pedestrian traffic during the eight-month project. Other options for foot traffic from downtown to campus include a sidewalk and staircase from N. Prospect Street to the east side of campus, a staircase on W. College Street just north of the Eisner Center and another set of stairs from Burg Street just north of W. College to the main academic quad.

The university encourages employees, visitors and Granville residents to download the Go Granville app to receive timely notifications about local traffic issues.