SAN ANTONIO – A road project on the city’s North Side that now has extended beyond two completion deadlines caused delays for students and parents headed back to school.
Work crews have been making upgrades to a bridge on Jones-Maltsberger Road near Redland Road to eliminate a low water crossing. The work, which began earlier this year, originally was set for completion August 14. Crews also missed a deadline of August 21.
April Luna, a spokeswoman for the city’s Transportation and Capital Improvements Department, said rain in May and June caused them to fall behind schedule. Wet weather this past week also caused further delays, she said.
As a result, the city now expects the job to be completed by September 4, Luna said.
In the meantime, drivers traveling to two different schools along that stretch of Jones-Maltsberger Road -- Driscoll Middle School and Great Hearts School -- now have only one way in and out. The closure caused back-to-school traffic Monday morning to back up all the way to Loop 1604 and Bulverde Road.
School buses could be seen arriving nearly 15 minutes late.
"With the construction and the change in the traffic pattern, so we did allow for that at school and make sure that our teachers accommodate those students that are coming in," said Steven Zimmerman, principal at Driscoll.
He said while traffic moving through the campus went smoothly, he did hear from parents about problems down the road.
"It's awful,” said a woman who identified herself only as “Tricia.” "This is a nightmare, driving at that intersection. It's crazy."
She didn’t expect to have to tangle with traffic jams. Her son usually rides the bus, but she said because of an unrelated route change, he was left standing in the rain. “Tricia” had to drive him there herself, arriving about 10 minutes after the first bell rang at Driscoll.
Zohra Sukhyani managed to get her child to school on time, but with great difficulty. Because of the street closure, she had to travel several miles out of her way from her other child’s elementary school.
"It's just a one- or two-minute drive. It took me 10 or 12 minutes from there,” Sukhyani said. "They're saying that, but I don't think they're going to be finished by Sept. 4 because of the rains. "
On Monday morning, about a half dozen police officers were in place to control the flow of traffic, both on Jones-Maltsberger Road and at some nearby intersections.
"More help is always welcome, so if the city contacts me, I'll be happy to discuss that with them," said Zimmerman.
The principal said although the morning traffic troubles could last a few weeks, he does not expect the same kind of congestion in the afternoons, particularly when it comes to the school’s 14 buses.
Zimmerman said the campus has a back road, usually used during flooding, that will be opened in the afternoons. He said a police officer will guide the bus drivers off campus that way, allowing them to exit onto Redland Road.