The alley behind West Virginia Universitys Wise Library is now closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic.

The alley will be closed for a year while workers renovate the 71-year-old library, said Ruth Nellis, coordinator of the downtown library project.

A portion of the alley from Willey Street to the drop-off for people with disabilities will remain open, Nellis added.

The alley is a widely used pedestrian shortcut to WVU s Downtown Campus. Physical Plant and mail delivery vehicles also use the upper portion of the alley; the lower portion is blocked off to vehicular traffic.

Once the library renovations are completed, workers will resurface and reopen the alley.

Meanwhile, several metered parking spaces on Prospect Street are available again for public use, Nellis said. Turner Construction of Pittsburgh, the construction manager for the library project, had leased those spots for a limited time from the City of Morgantown and fenced in the area for delivery truck parking.

The Wise Library renovations are the second and final stage of the downtown library project. The first stage was construction of a new adjacent library, which opened Jan. 14 with the start of the spring semester.