Summer construction set at Notre Dame's landmark grotto

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Construction work at the University of Notre Dame's famed prayer grotto is expected to last throughout the summer months.

The university says the work will include closing the main staircase to the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes so it can be completely replaced with wider, more accessible steps.

Crews will also replace the pavement in the gathering area facing the grotto with natural stone pavers. Other work involves installing new memorial benches at the grotto near Sacred Heart Basilica on the South Bend campus.

The work is closing the grotto's candles area for most of June and will limit public access to the grotto until its scheduled completion in mid-August.

The campus landmark is a one-seventh replica of the Lourdes shrine in France and was built in 1896.