By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – As one bridge opens another closes, prompting further traffic detours for residents of the Riverlands subdivision in LaPlace.

After a four-month closure, the Country Club Drive bridge is scheduled to reopen to traffic either Monday or Tuesday pending final inspection by the parish, said St. John the Baptist Parish spokesperson Paige Braud. But once that bridge is open, the parish will close portions of Greenwood Drive so work can be done to replace the bridge near LaPlace Elementary.

Braud said the Greenwood Drive bridge project is similar to the Country Club Drive bridge project in that it will require the complete replacement of the aging bridge and relocating of a water line near where the bridge is being removed. She said the only difference is the Greenwood Drive bridge will have a sidewalk on both sides of the bridge.

Braud said the closure will ultimately cause detours, but it won’t affect any businesses in the area of the bridge. It also won’t prevent residents from being able to get into their homes.

She said the road is not a major thoroughfare in the subdivision, so the closure should not cause major traffic concerns.

Braud also said the relocating of the water line, which is expected to happen Wednesday, will result in a temporary water outage for about seven or eight residences near the bridge. Affected homes will be notified early next week, said Braud.

Gray Construction of Morgan City, the firm that performed the work on the Country Club Drive bridge, was contracted by the parish in July to perform the work. Braud said the cost for the replacement is about $441,000.

Braud said the contract is for 90 days, but work is scheduled to be completed before classes resume at LaPlace Elementary on Aug. 8.