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news:
Repairs halt traffic
By Tanya Dellaca
On-line Summer Forty-Niner
Road enhancements
are frustrating some business owners and residents near the
Long Beach Airport. The Lakewood Boulevard Improvement Project,
which began four months ago, is nearing the end of the first
phase of construction.
Plans for the project
include repaving Lakewood Boulevard, installing new traffic
signals, and increasing the amount and length of the turn
lanes.
"It is much
needed construction," Chevron dealer Rouzbeh Kasravi
said, "but it is very bad for business since we are the
only small business in the area." Kasravi estimates his
business to be down by 25 to 30 percent.
"The construction
is very dirty and we are not getting quite as much cooperation
with clean up as we expected from the city." Kasravi
said.
The City of Long
Beach Public Works Department has contracted with Sulley Miller
Contracting to perform the improvements in the two-phase plan.
"Things are
running very smooth," Ron Salcido, Sulley Miller vice
president said. "We are a bit ahead of schedule and will
be making good progress over the next couple months."
"Traffic is
bad now," Gretchen Hutchins, a student at both Cal State
Long Beach and Long Beach City College said, "but when
its complete I hope it will make things better because I travel
between both campuses."
According to information
posted on the Internet, Long Beach Area Transportation Resource
Association construction crews will be working from 7:00 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If necessary, crews may
be working some evenings and weekends. The estimated
completion of the first phase is slated for the end of July.
LBATRA, which was
created to assist developers and the business community around
the airport, has been subcontracted by Sulley Miller to handle
community outreach, according to Associate Director Carole
Spignese. "We suggested they do it."
Although LBATRA
is contracted to assist the public and the community during
development, Spignese was unable to comment on the project
directly to the press. "Statements to the press should
be directed to Gillis Monroe at the City of Long Beach,"
Spignese said.
"The project
is pretty much on schedule," Gillis Monroe, chief construction
inspector said. Phase 1A, which included installing storm
drains and removing the median, is completed. Phase 1B, now
underway, will widen Lakewood Boulevard from about Conant
Street to Wardlow Road, Monroe said.
Internet construction
updates and alternate route information can be found at ci.long-beach.ca.us
or lbatra.com.
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