LEWISTON – Bates College has started construction on its new “Bates Walk,” a 1,000-foot walking path that spans the area between College Street and a new dining hall that borders Central Avenue. • The walk will replace Andrews Road, which had been used as a road and for parking. • As part of the construction, crews have removed most of the trees around Andrews Road and a section of trees near Roger Williams Hall. They will be replaced with birch trees after construction. • The Bates Walk construction coincides with two other building projects as the college works through phase one of its 25-year master plan. In October, crews broke ground for a 60,000-square-foot, $30 million dining hall between Garcelon Field and Alumni Gym. Last summer, crews broke ground on a $17.5 million, three-building dormitory village next to Rand Hall, across from the chapel on College Street. • The Bates Walk will link the new dining hall with the new dormitory. The dorms are expected to open to students in August. The walk will be finished in October and the dining hall is slated to open in January 2008.