Osprey bridge closure causes concern among Orange Avenue residents

The engineering team behind the Lift Station 87 project was prepared to address the concerns of Southside Village businesses at a meeting today, but a different group showed up to discuss its issues with the forthcoming construction effort.

On Aug. 1, the Osprey Avenue bridge will be closed for up to a year to allow construction crews to microtunnel beneath the Hudson Bayou. The closure is part of the first phase of the oft-delayed wastewater facility project, and engineering firm McKim and Creed first discussed a traffic management plan at a Nov. 17 public workshop.

This month, after the Lift Station 87 team began posting alerts regarding the closure and a planned detour from Osprey onto U.S. 41, businesses in Southside Village said they believed the use of Hillview Street as a detour route would negatively impact the commercial district.

Robert Garland, the project manager with McKim and Creed, said the city made a concerted public outreach effort regarding the traffic plan. The city mailed more than 2,000 postcards advertising the November meeting to addresses along and near Osprey.

“There shouldn’t be too many surprises about what was planned,” Garland said.

At today’s meeting, people living near Orange Avenue spoke out regarding concerns about how the Osprey closure would impact their residential streets. Although the detour encourages drivers to head to U.S. 41, those residents expressed fear that cars would travel down Orange, Alta Vista Street and other neighborhood roads to avoid congestion.

“Whether you tell them they can or not, they’re going to come down Orange Avenue,” resident Helga Williamson said.

City Commissioner Susan Chapman, a resident of Hudson Bayou, said her neighborhood association was requesting signs prohibiting thru traffic on residential streets in the area. She also encouraged the Lift Station 87 team to consider promoting alternative modes of transportation to reduce traffic gridlock.

Garland said his team would investigate its options, but the engineering firm remains largely focused on Osprey Avenue and the planned construction zone.

“It’s kind of a domino effect,” Garland said. “If we go over to Orange, then what happens to the next street?”