Mount Vernon's South Street Bridge closed less than a month after its reopening
Mount Vernon officials said the South Street Bridge is expected to be closed for two months.
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Mount Vernon officials said the South Street Bridge is expected to be closed for two months.
A post on Facebook said the closure will allow for sewer and water construction and necessary bridge repairs.
The work got mixed reaction from commuters in the community.
"Infrastructure improvement is always better for the residents in the community," Jeffrey Ampratwum said.
"It takes a whole long time just to go around. [It adds] another 10 to 15 minutes to go where I gotta go," Giovanni Rojas said.
The bridge closure comes just weeks after Mount Vernon officials celebrated the reopening of the bridge back in January.
Anne Marie Colace Nogueira, the owner of Nogueira's Auto Body Shop, said all of the changes are taking a toll on her business.
"The bridge closure has impacted my business tremendously because my customers get lost. I have to go find them at certain locations," Nogueira said.
The entrepreneur said she's now blaming the city for bad planning.
"We got this big celebration that it opened up and everyone was happy and now they shut it down again... Making it harder for our life," Nogueira said.
City officials issued a statement to News 12 saying "The repair of the sanitary sewer requires a different approach than the bridge work. Therefore, it was decided to separate the two operations..."
The Facebook post also reassured residents and local businesses that they "will continue to have access" in the affected areas.
