East Erie Street has been closed due to safety concerns likely forever.

The section of the street that is closed is between Haymaker Parkway and South Willow Street. It's the section of roadway where Kent State University will extend the Esplanade pedestrian path as part of the new, physical link between downtown and campus.

The city announced the closing Friday in a press release, which stated the street would be closed "indefinitely." The road is closed to both car and pedestrian traffic.

Construction on the Esplanade extension is scheduled to start this spring, and once finished the path will only be open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.