City Manager Jimmy Morales notified Commissioners this week of the change. He explained the process involved completion of each segment before moving to the next. The original plan would have created “a large area of impact for an extended period of time,” he wrote. “Segmented Construction has been proposed to the community and has received positive feedback and overall acceptance."
The benefits of the approach, he said, are fully dedicated resources to one segment at a time, shorter work times in each area, visible progress segment by segment rather than waiting until the end of work in a large area, and less impact on traffic as a result of smaller work zones.
Phase One of the West Avenue project has been completed but Phase Two was put on hold after the 2017 election during which Mayor Dan Gelber and Commissioner Mark Samuelian proposed a review of the City’s resiliency program. Following the program's review by experts from the Urban Land Institute and with the help of the Resilience Accelerator program co-sponsored by 100 Resilient Cities and Columbia University, the project was restarted.
According to a recent update provided to City Commissioners, the project is still going through the planning and review process.
UPDATE: City spokeswoman Melissa Berthier says construction on segments 1 and 2 in the West Avenue North project along with segment 1 in the South project is expected to begin in December "pending permit approval from DERM [the County's Department of Environmental Resources Management] and signed agreements for harmonization for the properties within these segments."
For more information, contact Heather Leslie via email or 305-905-5876.
