SAN ANTONIO – With college basketball’s big games coming to downtown San Antonio this weekend, the city has put some street construction work in a timeout.
It’s part of an effort to ease congestion and make things safer for people attending games and events related to the Final Four.
One of the major construction projects being put on hold temporarily is along South Alamo Street from Market Street to E. Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
The project, set for completion next spring, includes resurfacing the road and adding sidewalks, lighting, landscaping and drainage.
While crews were still working in that area Thursday morning, the plan calls for all work to cease temporarily between Friday, April 4, and Monday, April 7, according to the city’s public works department.
Temporary accommodations have also allowed more foot traffic through the area.
“We’ve done some pedestrian improvements to make sure we facilitate the movement of folks. If you drive by there, it looks a lot different,” City Manager Erik Walsh said during a news conference earlier in the week.
KSAT 12 News drove through the area Thursday morning and found smooth sailing along E. Cesar Chavez.
That road, which also had been a construction zone, reopened a few weeks ago, according to Andrew Bryson, who works nearby.
“If we’re going to be a destination, it takes a little bit of construction. It’s never convenient for anybody. (It’s) nothing we didn’t know about and nothing we can’t work around,” he said.
Bryson is the operations manager of two Dough Pizzeria locations, including one at the corner of S. Alamo St. and E. Cesar Chavez Blvd.
For months, he and his staff have worked in the middle of those cone zones, carefully planning out their routes to work.
Bryson said that with the streets reopened, he expects an especially busy weekend for the restaurant.
“They cleared out Cesar Chavez. All the traffic’s going, so, hopefully, that brings us a lot of foot traffic,” Bryson said. “It’s all hands on deck.”
Even with the roads reopened, driving downtown may not be a slam dunk.
The Final Four is expected to draw about 100,000 visitors to the city.
Not only may driving be a challenge, but parking will be at a premium.
Signs have already been placed along several streets leading to the Alamodome, which are designated areas for emergency vehicle parking only.
