NEW ORLEANS -- Major repair work is set to begin next week on a problematic bridge that crosses the Industrial Canal. The Judge Seeber Bridge, also known as the Claiborne Avenue Bridge, is scheduled to be closed on weekdays starting Monday until mid-May.
Transportation officials say the bridge is in need of repair, but its closure could be making it harder for ambulances to cross the canal. For emergency responders, every second counts.
"Time is of the essence, so we want to take the quickest path that's possible," said Jeb Tate, paramedic with New Orleans Emergency Medical Service.
For ambulances needing to cross the Industrial Canal -- and for the people seeking their help -- the quickest route may no longer be available to them.
The Claiborne Avenue Bridge will be closed for two months of major repairs, including the electrical and mechanical refurbishment of the bridge.
"Every once in a while, we need a major refurbishment to kind of catch everything at one time, which is what we have scheduled," said John Guidry, bridge maintenance engineer for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
Aside from the I-10 Highrise, the Claiborne Avenue Bridge closure leaves only two other ways to get across the canal and into the Lower Ninth Ward and points beyond -- the Florida Avenue and the St. Claude Avenue bridges. Both rise and fall, according to the needs of boats and ships navigating through the Industrial Canal. "Currently, when a unit gets a call and has to respond to the Lower Ninth Ward, we're going to proactively call the bridge operator," Tate said. "The bridge operator will be able to tell us if the St. Claude bridge is open, whether it's closed. Hopefully, he'll be able to give us the status on the Florida Avenue bridge, so we'll be able to take the best path." Earlier this week, though, Eyewitness News cameras captured a scene where emergency responders could not get across the St. Claude Avenue bridge because it was up. The responders spent crucial minutes stuck in traffic. The Claiborne Bridge closure will only add to traffic woes there. "We are expecting significant congestion at the St. Claude bridge," LA DOTD's Guidry said. "The traffic is going to be more than doubled at that location." Meaning, even when the bridge operators keep the Florida or St. Claude bridges down, ambulances will be dealing with more traffic. It is a problem that is only made worse because the closest hospital to the Lower Ninth Ward and St. Bernard is in downtown New Orleans. "Not having a hospital in [New Orleans East] hurts us, and in this very situation, not having a hospital in Chalmette even hurts us," Tate said. "In previous years, when we faced this kind of problem, we would just be able to transport to Chalmette, or we'd go through Chalmette, and transport to Methodist [Hospital]." Despite those challenges, emergency responders said they will do what is needed to respond as quickly as possible. "Bottom line is you're going to get a response," Tate said. "The bridges might slow us down a little bit, but we'll get there." For now, transportation officials are asking drivers to use I-10 as much as possible, to travel across the industrial canal, in order to avoid any potential delays at the bridges. Meanwhile, LA DOTD will hold two public meetings next week about the Claiborne Avenue Bridge repairs. The first will be on Wednesday, March 17th, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., at the St. Bernard Parish Government Complex in Chalmette. The second meeting will be held on Thursday, March 18th, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Martin Luther King Elementary School in the Lower Ninth Ward.
