GDOT District Engineer Todd Long says the Queen City Parkway bridge is 29 years old and needs the routine replacement of the bridge deck and the handrail - and that the work could take as long as eight months to finish.
"The northbound bridge into Downtown Gainesville will be closed first on Monday, July 12," Long said. "All traffic will be shifted to the southbound bridge; cutting the capacity of the roadway in half. Instead of having two lanes northbound and southbound; we will have one lane in each direction and both directions will use the same bridge. Once the northbound bridge is upgraded two-way traffic will shift onto it and work will begin on the southbound bridge."
These will be 24 hour work zones. Once the bridge is closed it will not be reopened until the work to upgrade it is completed. The contract allows 120 calendar days to complete each bridge from the day it is closed giving the contractor 240 closure days to complete both bridges.
"This week, as weather permits, single lane closures will occur to finish prepping the bridges for the upcoming closure," explained Long. "We have to finish paving the new lane that will shift traffic onto one bridge, allowing us to close the other bridge. That work won't take long to complete and we will be ready to close the bridge into Gainesville on Monday morning."
Long says the work will cut the capacity of Queen City Parkway in half, going from a four- lane highway to a two-lane highway with one lane in each direction.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/7/156432