[StBernard] For 2 months Claiborne Avenue Bridge to be closed, slowing EMS down

[Westley Annis]

For 2 months Claiborne Avenue Bridge to be closed, slowing EMS down



by Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News

Posted on March 10, 2010 at 10:16 PM

Updated yesterday at 10:23 PM

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NEW ORLEANS -- Major repair work is set to begin next week on a problematic
bridge that crosses the Industrial Canal. The Judge Seeber Bridge, also
known as the Claiborne Avenue Bridge, is scheduled to be closed on weekdays
starting Monday until mid-May.

Transportation officials say the bridge is in need of repair, but its
closure could be making it harder for ambulances to cross the canal. For
emergency responders, every second counts.

"Time is of the essence, so we want to take the quickest path that's
possible," said Jeb Tate, paramedic with New Orleans Emergency Medical
Service.

For ambulances needing to cross the Industrial Canal -- and for the people
seeking their help -- the quickest route may no longer be available to them.

The Claiborne Avenue Bridge will be closed for two months of major repairs,
including the electrical and mechanical refurbishment of the bridge.

"Every once in a while, we need a major refurbishment to kind of catch
everything at one time, which is what we have scheduled," said John Guidry,
bridge maintenance engineer for the Louisiana Department of Transportation
and Development.

Aside from the I-10 Highrise, the Claiborne Avenue Bridge closure leaves
only two other ways to get across the canal and into the Lower Ninth Ward
and points beyond -- the Florida Avenue and the St. Claude Avenue bridges.
Both rise and fall, according to the needs of boats and ships navigating
through the Industrial Canal.

"Currently, when a unit gets a call and has to respond to the Lower Ninth
Ward, we're going to proactively call the bridge operator," Tate said. "The
bridge operator will be able to tell us if the St. Claude bridge is open,
whether it's closed. Hopefully, he'll be able to give us the status on the
Florida Avenue bridge, so we'll be able to take the best path."

Earlier this week, though, Eyewitness News cameras captured a scene where
emergency responders could not get across the St. Claude Avenue bridge
because it was up. The responders spent crucial minutes stuck in traffic.
The Claiborne Bridge closure will only add to traffic woes there.

"We are expecting significant congestion at the St. Claude bridge," LA
DOTD's Guidry said. "The traffic is going to be more than doubled at that
location."

Meaning, even when the bridge operators keep the Florida or St. Claude
bridges down, ambulances will be dealing with more traffic. It is a problem
that is only made worse because the closest hospital to the Lower Ninth Ward
and St. Bernard is in downtown New Orleans.

"Not having a hospital in [New Orleans East] hurts us, and in this very
situation, not having a hospital in Chalmette even hurts us," Tate said. "In
previous years, when we faced this kind of problem, we would just be able to
transport to Chalmette, or we'd go through Chalmette, and transport to
Methodist [Hospital]."

Despite those challenges, emergency responders said they will do what is
needed to respond as quickly as possible.

"Bottom line is you're going to get a response," Tate said. "The bridges
might slow us down a little bit, but we'll get there."

For now, transportation officials are asking drivers to use I-10 as much as
possible, to travel across the industrial canal, in order to avoid any
potential delays at the bridges.

Meanwhile, LA DOTD will hold two public meetings next week about the
Claiborne Avenue Bridge repairs. The first will be on Wednesday, March 17th,
from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., at the St. Bernard Parish Government Complex
in Chalmette. The second meeting will be held on Thursday, March 18th, from
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Martin Luther King Elementary School in the Lower
Ninth Ward.