Construction of a commuter parking lot at the top of the hill next to Anderson hall is still on schedule to be completed this summer, Kyle Nelsen, director of WSC Facility Services, said.

Nelsen said the outbreak and spread of COVID-19 may affect the construction schedule.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports Nebraska has between101 and 500 cases as of April 2 at 4 p.m.

“There is a possibility that we could start sooner than originally planned, given that there is less traffic on campus since classes have moved to remote delivery,” Nelsen said.

He said the substantial completion date will be Aug. 1 with a final completion date of Sept. 1.

Wayne State College will determine if construction could commence earlier than planned later this month. A firm has not yet been hired. Nelsen said the college is still working through the contracting phase with the low bidder. He said the commuter parking lot is estimated to cost the college between $600,000 and $650,000.

Nelsen said the lot will have 57 stalls which will allow more parking availability for commuting students and extra parking for special events at the college. Nelsen said he did not think more students would move off campus because they might secure a parking spot in the new commuter lot.

The CDC reports 213,144 cases and 4,513 deaths from COVID-19 as of April 2 at 4 p.m. This report includes the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Breaking these numbers down, 1,144 are travel-related, 3,245 were contracted from close contact (community spread) with an infected person while 209,755 cases are still under investigation.