As move-in day approaches, NIU police set up alternate traffic routes

DeKALB – More than 2,500 students are expected to arrive on Northern Illinois University campus Friday, part of the annual Fall Move-in Day, and drivers are being warned about traffic changes expected Friday.

According to a news release from the university, NIU police are urging drivers to use alternate routes and avoid the area if possible this weekend, unless part of move-in day traffic.

Most move-in day traffic exiting Interstate 88 at Annie Glidden Road will be diverted immediately onto Fairview Road, according to the release.

The traffic will then head 2miles west to Melson Road, then 2 miles north to Route 38, and east a mile until arriving on campus.

NIU Police will be on hand to direct traffic on that route and more than 100 signs will keep motorists on course.

Additionally, all roads on NIU West Campus – quartered off by the Convocation Center to the west, Annie Glidden road to the east, Route 38 to the south and Grant Drive to the north – will be closed to anyone not involved in move-in day from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday.

All parking lots in that area will also be closed, according to the release. Parking will be allowed in Lot C3, north of the Convocation Center, or in Lot K on West Lincoln Highway next to the Popeye’s Chicken.

The 2,500 new and returning students will arrive beginning Friday through Sunday, and joining an additional 1,200 athletes, honors students and volunteers already on campus.