by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Since construction began earlier this year on Hendricks Avenue, everything has been going according to plan despite a few minor problems.
“We’re overall about 15 percent complete on the project,” said David Schneider, senior public works manager for the Office of Public Works. “Most of the work done is with the 12-inch water main work in the center of the road.”
Schneider said early on in the project when workers started digging into the street, they hit old railroad ties running down the center of the road.
“There were other unexpected changes and that resulted in a 30-day time extension granted to the contract,” he said. “It is gone from an 18-month job to a 19-month job.”
Marcy Cook, the communications manager for public works, said everything is going well, apart from the surprise railroad ties which did not cause much of a problem.
“Everything is going as planned and it is coming right along,” Cook said.
Some of the changes that are being made to Hendricks Avenue include burying most of the utilities, changing from four lanes to three lanes, widening sidewalks, replacing wire signals with mast arms, bike lanes on both sides, historic lighting, brick accents and landscaping.
“This is a part of the Better Jacksonville Plan,” said Cook. “That whole area of San Marco is being improved to beautify the corridor and make it more pedestrian friendly. “
There are a lot of different projects planned for the area and a lot to be done yet. Hendricks Avenue is the first part of the project, she said.
Currently, workers are finishing the water main work and will soon be shifting to the sidewalks to work on the electrical infrastructure. The railroad going through a part of Hendricks Avenue has not caused any problems, said Cook.
“We knew the railroad was there and we coordinated with the railroad far in advance with their schedules,” she said. “We don’t anticipate that being a problem.”
The project is expected to be completed in October 2006, and even though there will be limited street parking when it is completed, Cook said spots are being added by Panera. The Kings Avenue parking garage is available as is the Swain Memorial Lot.
FiFi’s, an upscale retail consignment store located on Hendricks Avenue, has seen business slow down a little because of the construction.
“It has slowed down a little because of parking,” said Jennifer Godfrey, manager of FiFi’s. “Business is falling off yes, but not to the point where we are going to go bankrupt.”
She said they hear complaints from customers that they can’t cross the street and there aren’t enough places to park.
“They have to stumble across the street because of the construction,” she said. “There is an empty lot across the street to park in and there is parking in the back of the store. But a lot of the time there are construction trucks blocking them.”
Godfrey said right now the construction is more of an aggravation and she just wants it to be completed as soon as possible.
“I think it may be better when it is over,” she said.