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City removes barricades blocking BR business entrance after WBRZ report
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BATON ROUGE - A business owner is breathing a sigh of relief after part of a bridge, the only way in and out of his nursery, was partially re-opened.
City-Parish vehicles moved barricades and cones Wednesday to re-open one lane on the Auto Plex Drive bridge over Clay Cut Bayou.
"I'm excited I feel like we're back to normal," said Bryon Clegg, owner of CNI Wholesale Nursery.
Officials closed the bridge Tuesday because of structural issues. According to transportation director Fred Raiford, an inspection through DOTD found a concern on one side.
"Just a stressful situation, just timing," Clegg said. "The bridge needs fixing, I get it, but for my business. This is my busy season so it was bad timing."
Raiford told WBRZ after further inspection from engineers, it is safe to open one lane at a time with weight restrictions.
CNI Wholesale Nursery was left directing traffic through the nearby school, threatening business. Now, business is operating normally.
"Once they got the barricades moved 45 minutes to an hour ago, I feel like I can breathe a little easier again," Clegg said. "We're just texting, emailing our customers back. 'You won't have to cut through our neighbor's school property.'"
Raiford says the work should take about a week to finish. There's no date tonight for when that'll happen.
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