Fifth St. Bridge traffic shifts

Construction on the new Fifth Street Bridge has shifted this past weekends construction crews have moved construction from the south half of the bridge to the north half. Students walking from campus to Tech Square started using the other side of the bridge April 1.

“Road crews [altered] the flow of traffic from the northern half to the south, closing the old route in anticipation of its demolition and reconstruction,” said Frank Lamia, a Facilities project manager.

“They [shifted] the pedestrian and vehicular traffic from the existing north half of the bridge on to the new south part on the bridge,” Lamia said.

“They will start to the demolition on the north half of the bridge in about a month.”

The overall goal of the Fifth Street Bridge is to dampen the effect of the Interstate and create a peaceful crossing for Tech students.

“The idea is to bring collegiate tranquility to an area that is overwhelmed with the cars and noise of the downtown connector,” Lamia said.

The project will widen the sidewalks and add roughly 125 feet of elevated green space, creating a park-like setting that blocks out views and dampens the noise of the interstate below.

“I think it will be a wonderful walking experience,” Lamia said. “The sidewalk is going to be quite a bit longer with landscaping on all sides. The experience will be much more pleasant. I think it will be quieter and act like a buffer from the freeway noise. [It will be] a wonderful connection between Tech Square and the rest of campus.”

Completion of the two-year project is still expected on or near its original November deadline.

“The target date is the end of November,” Lamia said. “Crews have nearly completed the necessary foundation work on the east end as well as the structural support at the midpoint of the bridge.”

According to Lamia, construction will go appear to go more quickly on the northern side.

“In terms of visual construction is should go faster now because they have a lot of the foundation done,” Lamia said. “It will change rapidly over that next six months.”

Lamia does not foresee any setbacks delaying the completion of the bridge.

“I don’t think they’ve had any real big surprises,” Lamia said. “From a construction point of view its gone the way its suppose to go.”

Once the expansions of the bridge have been built, the green space will be constructed on the expansions.

While they are continuing construction on the bridge, the bridge will continue to remain open to both pedestrian and vehicle traffic.

“It is an unusual project in that they are building the bridge and maintaining it at the same time versus closing it down,” Lamia said.

Some of the work will require lane closures on the interstate, but it should cause a minimal effect on interstate traffic due to a Federal Highway Administration mandate that all such work be done at night.