[StBernard] St. Claude Bridge Closures Scheduled for May 30-31

[Westley Annis]

St. Claude Bridge Closures Scheduled for May 30-31 

Repairs to the St. Claude Avenue Bridge will require closure of the bridge
to marine traffic and closure of one westbound vehicular lane for 36
consecutive hours between 6:00 AM on Saturday, May 30, 2009 and 11:59 PM on
Sunday, May 31, 2009.  The work will also require periodic closure of both
westbound lanes for up to one hour during the 36-hour period to facilitate
the work.

Vehicular traffic may also continue to see the impact of the closure on
Monday morning if the Coast Guard decides that it needs to clear a backlog
of marine traffic from the IHNC. The Coast Guard may suspend the Monday,
June 1, 2009 marine curfew between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. if necessary.
Usually, the bridge remains in its down position on weekdays during peak
commute times to assist commuters. 

Alternate routes are the Florida Avenue Bridge or the Judge Seeber
(Claiborne Avenue) Bridge when the bridge is closed totally to westbound
vehicular traffic.  During the repair work there will be an electronic
message board on St. Claude Avenue between Lizardi and Forstall Streets
advising the public when the one hour total westbound closures are expected
to begin and end so that traffic can detour to another bridge.


The closure will allow work crews to replace the mechanical rollers under a
strut on the side of the bridge closest to the lock. This strut controls the
raising and lowering of the bridge and routine engineering inspection
recommended replacement.