SPOKANE — Drivers dealt with their first full day of the Maple Street Bridge closure, facing traffic backups and longer commutes as the city expects the bridge to remain closed for the next two weeks.
The city directs drivers to Monroe and Division streets to go north or south. However, other construction on Monroe is also causing backups there.
Drivers say the closure has already added a lot of time to their commute. Edward Montoya said he will have to plan his route ahead of time.
“I’m just going to have to plan my route ahead of time and deal with traffic. I know there’s some upset people to that have been in traffic and people are yelling at each other,” Montoya said.
Montoya worried about running out of gas while sitting in traffic.
“It’s been a bit much to have to go around and deal with traffic lately,” he said.
Other drivers say the closures are obnoxious and wish the city focused on other projects that aren’t so disruptive.
Businesses are feeling the impact too, especially ones closest to where the construction is happening. Santos Sarma manages a 76 station nearby and has seen a decrease in customers since the bridge closed.
“Too much, like 40% customers down. We can look at how many customers come in during a time period. Like now, no one is here,” Sarma said.
Another 76 station just a block away says two of their driveways are blocked because of the closure, and they’re seeing far fewer customers because of it.
The city says intersections at Second, Third and Fourth avenues will close overnight because of this project. It hopes closing them overnight will have the least impact on traffic.
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