Updated: Sept. 26, 2014 at 1:26 p.m.

The University will close a side entrance to the Mount Vernon Campus this fall.

University spokesman Kurtis Hiatt said closing the W Street entrance near Merriweather Hall was part of an effort to make the entryway off Whitehaven Parkway the “front door” to the campus.

Last spring, GW updated the Whitehaven Parkway entrance’s sign, built short brick walls around the entrance and planted flowers and trees in the area. It also added a sidewalk from the West Hall access road to Foxhall Road, according to a University website.

Students who live on the Vern will still be able to enter through W Street using their GWorld cards, but only as pedestrians, Hiatt said. Students who live on the Foggy Bottom Campus will be required to enter the Vern through the Whitehaven Parkway entrance.

The construction will permanently move University Police Department officers who were stationed at the gate house near W Street to Ames Hall, according to a University release. The project will also involve demolishing the nearby parking lot. The Mount Vernon Campus Plan requires students, faculty, staff and visitors to park on the campus, Hiatt said.

Faculty and staff will be required to enter through the Whitehaven Parkway entrance. Students who live on the Vern and community members who live near the W Street entrance will have GWorld access to the gate when the project wraps up by early 2015.

Hiatt declined to say how much the renovations will cost, deferring to the University’s capital budget, which does not break down how much GW will spend on the project.

This post was updated to reflect the following corrections:
The Hatchet incorrectly reported that the parking lot demolition would require faculty and staff to park on the Vern. Students, faculty, staff and visitors already must park on the campus. The Hatchet also incorrectly reported that community members who live near the W Street entrance will have GWorld access to the gate starting in October. They will have GWorld access when the project is completed by early 2015. We regret these errors. The post was also updated to clarify that only students who live on the Vern will be able to enter through W Street using GWorld.