Traffic seemed to be moving smoothly on Monday, the first day of the weeklong closure of a portion of Glenridge Road.
The road is closed between Bradt Road and Bruce Drive for roughly seven days to allow for drainage work and regrading of the road to flatten its slope.
It is part of the nearly $12 million project to widen the roadway and the two railroad bridge underpasses.
After the project, a traffic signal that currently controls alternating one-way traffic at one of the underpasses will be eliminated.
Glenville Public Works Commissioner Tom Coppola said there didn’t appear to be any issues during the morning.
“It was flowing pretty well,” he said.
He believes that people saw the posted signs and electronic message boards and took advantage of alternate routes.
Traffic is being detoured from Route 146 to Alplaus Avenue and Maple Avenue before getting back on Glenridge Road.
“They must be going to the Rexford Bridge or going to Route 50 and coming all the way around,” Coppola said.
The timing of the roadwork may have also been a factor, according to Coppola.
With schools out for summer vacation, there are no school buses on the route and families may be off on vacation as well. “That’s why they coordinated it for this time,” he said.
Emergency vehicles and residents can still access that section of Glenridge Road.
Department of Transportation spokeswoman Carol Breen said that since the work started at 9 a.m., the Monday morning rush hour wasn’t affected by the closure.
“We haven’t seen any significant backups on the official detour route and have not heard of any backups in the area that could have possibly been caused by the Glenridge Road work. We assume that motorists are taking other routes depending on where they are coming from and where they are going,” she said.
Breen said today will be the first day that construction will occur during the peak morning commuting time and said motorists should find other routes if possible or plan extra travel time.
People can call 511 or visit www.511NY.org for information on travel conditions.
Next year, the road will be closed for the entire summer. The work for the third and final construction season for the project involves installing a roundabout at the intersection of Glenridge Road and Maple Avenue and replacing the Glenridge Road bridge over Alplaus Kill.
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