Water main replacement plans for Riverside, Avondale no pipe dream
By Susanna P. Barton
Resident Community News
JEA officials said they are “on track” with plans for the upcoming Riverside Avenue Water Improvement Project, an undertaking that will affect commuters, business and residents in along several primary neighborhood connector roads this fall.
Greg Corcoran, JEA project outreach coordinator for the project, said design plans are about 60 percent complete. JEA crews will replace 6-inch pipes with 8-inch pipes in some areas and exchange 8-inch pipes in other sections along Riverside Avenue between San Juan and Edison avenues. The pipes will be replaced through a process called “pipe bursting,” which was implemented during the Avondale Town Center utilities work two years ago. The replacement occurs in sections and does not require digging up the entire street. JEA intends to tackle the project in short block increments, so road detours will be abbreviated and ever changing throughout the project.
The outcome? For some residents and businesses, the replacement means better water pressure. And for all — repaved roadways along Riverside and St. Johns avenues and Herschel Street.
Corcoran said JEA had an initial meeting with Riverside Avondale Preservation director, Carmen Godwin, to provide the group with a basic overview of the project and gather input. District 14 City Councilman Jim Love said he has been briefed on the project and was told JEA would close traffic one block at a time to minimize impact on traffic.
Godwin said JEA wanted help identifying “character-defining features” that need to be maintained during the project. They also sought help getting word out about the project once construction begins this fall and wanted to know about major events so they could work around those times, she said.
“The biggest disruption is going to be on traffic as it is redirected along the side streets,” she explained.
JEA officials are working hard to mitigate impact on the neighborhood.
“We are currently looking at all the different proactive coordination issues with the individual businesses and residents along St. Johns & Riverside Avenue,” Corcoran indicated. He said each business and resident will have different needs and requirements that JEA “will try our best to satisfy.”
Planned water outages, of course, will be part of the project coordination. One of the neighborhood’s largest operation, St. Vincent’s Medical Center Riverside, is one of the groups with which JEA has been meeting to make sure their specific needs are met.
” Most residents and businesses are especially ready to get the project started so that Riverside Avenue will be milled and resurfaced,” he said.
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