[StBernard] Judge Seeber Bridge is closed, starting today

[Westley Annis]

Judge Seeber Bridge is closed, starting today
By The Times-Picayune 
March 15, 2010, 3:55AM

Travel to and from the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard and Plaquemines
parishes will become a little more difficult today as the Judge Seeber
Bridge over the Industrial Canal is shut down completely for almost two
months.

The bridge, more commonly known as the Claiborne Avenue bridge, will undergo
a $6.8 million rehabilitation project to replace the wire ropes that raise
and lower the drawbridge, repair the electrical system, replace beams
damaged by marine vessels and large trucks and replace the bridge decking to
improve traction and eliminate the wave action motorists feel when crossing
the bridge, the state Department of Transportation and Development said.

The bridge is scheduled to be closed until May 13, the state says.

Motorists are advised to use nearby alternate canal crossings -- the St.
Claude Avenue or Florida Avenue drawbridges -- or detour to Paris Road and
Interstates 510 and 10.

But the full closure of the Judge Seeber bridge, which carries more than
26,000 vehicles a day, is expected to create traffic snarls along St. Claude
Avenue, Claiborne Avenue and many of the smaller streets in the area.

A second, four- to eight-week full closure of the bridge is likely for July,
officials said.

Traffic snarls on the Judge Seeber and other drawbridges across the
Industrial Canal have long been a frustration for residents. Many worry that
closing one of the bridges also will create a safety issue because the
nearest hospital to St. Bernard and Lower 9th Ward is on the other side of
the Industrial Canal in New Orleans.

"I've gotten more calls on the bridge than anything else,'' St. Bernard
Parish Councilman Mike Ginart said. 

State highway department officials have said they expect to have additional
police patrols for the intersections nearest the bridges to help keep
traffic flowing, particularly during morning and evening rush hours. Also,
traffic light cycles on area roads likely will be altered to allow more time
for vehicles to pass through intersections without stacking up.

The highway department operates the Judge Seeber Bridge. The Port of New
Orleans operates the St. Claude and Florida Avenue bridges. More than 12,000
vehicles cross the St. Claude Avenue bridge each day.

The bridges open to marine traffic throughout the day, except for drive-time
rush hour: 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:45 p.m. The bridges also must
remain lowered during emergency situations when first responders must cross,
the highway department said.


For information or to sign up for periodic e-mail updates on the project,
contact DOTD's customer service center at DOTDCS at la.gov or 877.4LA.DOTD
(877.452.3683) Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.