Southside road work to cut off travel in Crest Lake Drive area part of next week
Southside city officials worked with police, fire, emergency service personnel, schools, engineers, and contractors to plan for as many contingencies as possible for a road work project that will cut off about 70 residences while a culvert is being replaced.
Mayor Dana Snyder, Police Chief Blake Ragsdale, and Fire Chief Wade Buckner were among the city personnel going door to door in the Crest Lake Drive area and streets beyond to tell residents about what's coming on Sept. 6 and Sept. 7, when they will be asked to stay off the road in the area while the work is underway.
The culvert on Crest Lake has been in danger of washing away, Snyder said, and the city has been planning this project for about six months to replace it. The disruption for the public has been one of the reasons it's taken a while.
There are about 70 residences on the streets that use Crest Lake to get in and out of their neighborhood. Buckner said the fire department often has medic calls in the area — they've had more than one in a single day there — and there was concern about potential emergencies.
Snyder said contractors believe they can complete the project in two days, and to give them the ability to do that, Crest Lake Road will be blocked for construction from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 6 and Sept. 7.
The city has made arrangements for an emergency road through to homeowners lots — but officials want to keep that for emergencies alone. To make that possible, Ragsdale and Buckner have planned for a fire truck, an advanced life support truck, a police car, a camper as an office area, and a garbage truck to be located on the northeast side of the culvert.
Snyder said officials are asking residents in the area to plan so that travel in and out can be strictly limited.
She said there have been meetings with school officials to make bus arrangements, because a bus cannot go across the roadway during construction.
Buckner said they've already identified a dialysis patient in the area dependent on an ambulance to go to appointments, and will work to accommodate the patient.
Snyder said first responders and city employees several months ago noticed crumbling at the culvert, and worries grew that it could wash away or collapse — something that would cut off those residences without any preparation.
Work began then, with engineering inspections, planning the project and going through a bid process — an abbreviated one, because the City Council declared it an emergency project.
Snyder said public safety officials have been in touch with Survival Flight, and have arranged for a landing area should there be a critical need for transport.
Southside Water Works was already in the area this week, and residents have experienced some temporary disruptions of water service. Water lines, however, didn't have to be moved.
Snyder, Ragsdale, and Buckner were out Wednesday afternoon to try to make personal contact with people at the 34 remaining residences, to be able to answer any questions residents would have well before the construction project began.
The mayor said they hope it will go smoothly — as one does with any construction project — so that the disruption for residents will be limited.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Southside officials plan extensively for road project's disruptions
