Get ready for more Brand closures

Closure of Doran Street at Brand Boulevard is just one of several scheduled as crews finish work.DOWNTOWN GLENDALE -- An unscheduled closure of Doran Street at Brand Boulevard Monday snarled traffic, confused nearby merchants and added to the woes caused since the boulevard’s first major reconstruction project began in April.

And that won’t be the only closure motorists and pedestrians will have to contend with in coming days.

Wilson Avenue from Maryland Avenue to Orange Street will be blocked off on Monday as crews level the roadway. And Brand is slated to close between Wilson Avenue and Harvard Street on Nov. 30 for the final capping of the roadway, Senior Civil Engineer Roubik Golanian said.

Doran, which remained closed Tuesday, was blocked off Monday when subcontractors had to lay new conduits below ground for a new traffic signal installation, Golanian said.

“At that time the contractor [Shawnan Construction] decided that since they have to take the existing concrete crosswalks out anyways, they would do so at the same time and lay down the base paving,” he said.

Depending on the day’s temperatures, city officials were hopeful that they would be able to reopen the street either late Tuesday night or early this morning, Golanian said.

“[The contractors] typically need to give a minimum seven-day notice for full street closures,” said Golanian, who said he did not find out about the closure until late in the day Monday. “But in this case a decision was made in the field.”

While Brand remained open with at least one lane in both directions Monday and Tuesday, there was no advance warning about the Doran Street closure for Simon Koh, owner of the nearby Beverly Deli at 505 N. Brand Blvd.

“We were told about the work about a month ago, but I never heard them mentioning street closures,” Koh said, adding that he has lost about 10% to 15% of his business since the work began. “We hope they finish as soon as possible. There are a lot of my customers telling me they are stressed out because the crosswalks are closed, and the noise and dust is too much. But what can you do? I guess they are working for a better future.”

But John Yadegarian, owner of the Smart Smoke Shop at 535 N. Brand Blvd., was not as understanding.

“We are sick and ... tired of this,” Yadegarian said. “This construction is unnecessary and it is a waste of money. It has affected my business a lot.”

The work has been complicated by the lack of proper record keeping during the last major reconstruction of the boulevard in the early 1970s, Councilman Bob Yousefian said.

“When they open up these streets they don’t know what the are going to find because Joe Blow who last worked on it did not write down what he found,” Yousefian said. “The way they operated back then was a small-town attitude, they didn’t really look forward to what would happen in 30 to 40 years. But the work has to be done, and when it is done it will look great and we won’t have to worry about it for another 30 or 40 years.”

The capping of Brand on Nov. 30 will complete about 90% of the first phase of the project, from Colorado to Milford streets, Golanian said.

“The following day we will do the striping, and after that all that will remain is some irrigation, wiring, nothing that will impede traffic or pedestrians,” he said.

The final capping of the second phase, from Milford to Sanchez Drive, will close that portion of Brand on Dec. 20, Golanian said.

“Once that is done and the striping is in place, we will not be doing any more major work on the boulevard until Jan. 3,” he added.

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