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PROVO — BYU's iconic "Y" is looking a bit different during its renovation.
Crews are installing permanent lights, repairing erosion and repainting the 350-foot-tall block letter on Y Mountain above Brigham Young University.
The surface of the Y is being repaired with a grayish concrete called gunite. The Y will be fully repainted in its original white in about a week, said BYU spokesman Todd Hollingshead.
To carry on the tradition of lighting the Y at special events like homecoming and commencement, crews installed 183 permanent lights to outline the Y. Now, with a less intensive process to light the Y, BYU hopes to light it more frequently for other special events, Hollingshead said.
Improvements for a "better hiking experience" will also be made to the Y Mountain Trail, he said, which through years of erosion and weather has become "tricky" to navigate.
BYU officials announced in March that they finalized the purchase of 81 acres of the mountain from the U.S. Forest Service. Congress authorized the sale in December 2014.
The Y was originally built out of a lime and sand mixture by students in 1906. Since then, students have returned every few years to rebuild and repaint the block letter.
The current renovation, which is expected to be complete by the end of the summer, will provide more permanent improvements to hold the iconic figure in place.
