EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) -
Coveted parking spots in the Back 40 lot behind the Civic Center are going to be harder to find.
Starting Thursday, half of the lot will close for construction. By the time it's all over, there will be more than 200 new parking spots.
Like many who visit The Centre, the Ford Center, and the Civic Center, Tony Dixon heads straight to the Back 40.
"Most of the time we have to walk two or three blocks just to get there," said Dixon.
That walk is about to get a little longer Thursday.
That's because the front half of the Back 40, along 9th street, will be off limits for parking while construction is going on.
When things wrap up on the front half, they'll move to the back.
"It is going to be an inconvenience to not only the employees in the Civic Center, but the visitors coming into events at the Ford Center, doing business in the Civic Center. It's not going to be fun for the next 12 weeks," said David Rector, who's the General Manager of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Building Authority.
When those 12 long weeks are over, Rector says they'll have added more than 200 new parking spots.
You'll also see rain gardens, islands with trees in the lot, and underground chambers are going in to store storm water. These additions are to help the city comply with a federal consent decree, that says the city must get storm water out of its sewer lines.
This means until the middle of June, those used to parking in the Back 40 may want to leave the house a little earlier.
"I can foresee that it would be really nice when it's finished, just hate the walk now," said Beverly Dixon, who parks in Back 40.
The Building Authority says it delayed construction because of some major events at the Ford Center. Officials encourage those who usually park in the Back 40 to use on-street parking or one of the downtown parking garages.
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