Jacksonville motorists could be driving across the South Main Street Bridge again before Thanksgiving, but city officials say the timeline is not set in stone.
The Jacksonville Journal-Courier reported Tuesday that the city is targeting November 19th to reopen South Main Street between Morton and Beecher Avenues.
The roadway has been closed since June for a three-point-seven-million-dollar infrastructure improvement project that includes replacing the bridge.
Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard says that the city is hopeful traffic can resume before the holiday, but several factors could still impact that timeline: “No, I mean that is our hope prior to Thanksgiving. I know that the crews are stretched pretty thin, and there’s a lot of projects they are involved with throughout the area that are tying them up as well. But the hopes are to at least get the traffic moving through there around Thanksgiving time. As everyone knows, road projects can be tricky, especially with a bridge.”
Ezard says the project has encountered issues along the way, although he could not identify specific causes for the delays. He says construction crews have also been stretched thin by other projects throughout the area.
The project was originally expected to take approximately four months to complete.
Ezard says the city’s immediate priority is restoring northbound and southbound traffic over the bridge before winter weather makes further construction difficult: “They know the weather is going to hit. And I believe that if the road can be opened up enough, the sidewalk work and all of the aesthetics up to the Square can be done as weather permits. What they are trying to do now is get [traffic] flow north and south over the bridge [restored].”
Remaining improvements, including sidewalks, lighting, and other finishing work along South Main Street, are expected to continue as weather permits once traffic is restored.
The prolonged closure has also created access difficulties for nearby businesses and residents. City officials recently discussed relocating construction barricades closer to the bridge to improve access during the remaining work.
No firm completion date has been announced for the remaining sidewalk and lighting improvements.