When school resumes Aug. 31, Hinsdale Middle School students who ride the bus will find a new, more convenient route from the buses to the reconfigured main entrance.

A new drop-off area for school buses will be under construction soon — the “loop” is expected to be completed by the first day of school — and was designed to make it safer for picking up and dropping off students at the school.

“Now all buses will use the new loop south of the building, and it should help alleviate traffic along Garfield Avenue east of the school,” said Sue Kamuda, director of building and grounds for the Community Consolidated School District 181.

In the past, individual car and school buses often created traffic snarls along Garfield Avenue as they attempted to pull into a driveway loop just east of the building. Students walking to school exacerbated the problem, officials said.

Throughout the past few months District 181 officials looked at ways to modify the system to separate buses and vehicles as much as possible.

“This is a good way to separate the various vehicles and make it safer,” said Kamuda. “In the past you had a lot of kids, buses and cars in the same location.”

Hinsdale Deputy Police Chief Kevin Simpson said police have been involved in the plans and endorses the change.

“Any time you can make it safer for the students, it is a positive thing,” Simpson said.

The new bus loop is part of about $800,000 of improvements being done at the school this summer — not counting the $4.7 million heating and cooling system project — and should eliminate buses stacking up at previous drop off points along Garfield Avenue and the alley north of the building, Kamuda said.

The entrance and exit to the new bus loop will be on the north side of Third Street.

The existing parking loop/driveway along Garfield Avenue will remain, but will be designated for visitors and handicapped parking only, Kamuda said.

The new loop will accommodate eight buses at one time, double-stacked, said Kamuda. Nine buses are expected to transport students each day.

“The location of the curb cuts for the loop’s exit and entrance are designed so they do not line up with any residents’ driveways, Kamuda said.

Another safety improvement at the school will be the construction of a new main entrance on the south side of the building near the existing offices. The main entrance in the past was on the north side of the building.

“The new entrance will be more secure, and will be ADA accessible. This is the right way to do it,” Kamuda said.

Officials said the HVAC project will be mostly complete by the time school starts.

“The air conditioning portion will be completed, although the heating portion may not be finished at that time,” Kamuda said.