Abrams street construction affects local businesses and commuters

By Courtni Fields, Jennifer King, Audrey Henvey, Keyuri Parab and Ariana Vera

As ‘The American Dream City’ continues its mission to open up its downtown roads for the growing community, construction seems to have caused some complaints.

In March 2018, the City of Arlington approved a bid to begin construction on Abrams street. Construction would span from the Cooper street intersection to Collins street.  The $26.7 million project was originally established in a sequential fashion. The construction teams would travel down one side of the street and then turn around and travel up the other side, said Danny Nail, City of Arlington construction inspector. But that plan was soon changed.

Because of delays on the initial end of the project’s scope, the team began construction on the other end as well, placing the project a year ahead, Nail said. Delays included utility issues in what is one of the older parts of the city, such as waiting for the nearby gas company to move it’s underground utilities. Heavy rainfall in the past weeks also set the projects behind, he said.

UTA alumna Mary Grace Metheny said she spent two years driving from Dallas to UTA for class. She always took different routes to get there because of the constant construction.

“I already planned ahead and came 30 minutes early so I could find parking, but often the construction would force me to find a new way to get to class,” Metheny said. “Many of the streets in that area were closed and often the streets you detoured on were closed too.”

Metheny now attends Southern Methodist University. She prefers the drive

compared to that of UTA because even when there is construction, there are always different routes available that get you there in time, she said.  

The problem with Arlington compared to Dallas is that there are fewer large streets, making it hard to redirect traffic as needed, Metheny said.

Traffic is a part of life, however the problem with cities like Arlington is they can’t keep up their infrastructure to support the rapid population growth, she said.

Broadcasting and journalism senior Creighton Branch commutes from North Arlington via Cooper Street. The numerous detours and crawling traffic adds at least ten minutes to his drive every day. Most days it’s longer.

“You can’t get to class on time anymore,” he said. “It’s not fun.”

Branch believes the project should have been planned differently, with a late spring start date and the majority of the workload being completed during the break, as was the case with the parking garage adjacent to The Commons on West campus.

“It’s exactly what you saw them do with the garage over here,” Branch said.  “They started later in the spring, built during the summer then finished in the fall, so it wasn’t always in everyone’s way.”

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex had the largest population growth in the United States as of July 1, 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The impact of the project, dubbed “Abram Street Rebuild,” is felt off campus, too. Last Thursday representatives from the Public Works and Transportation Department met with area property and business owners to address questions and concerns regarding road construction. The meeting site, J.R. Bentley’s English Pub, located at 406 W Abram St. in Arlington, is one of the businesses greatly affected by the street work.

The small bar and grill has operated downtown for 40 years, enduring and flourishing through relocation, transfer of ownership and even fire. But it is Arlington’s latest city improvement project that has owner Dana Ladd worrying about the future of her pub.

Ladd says she’s accustomed to her business ebbing and flowing with the tides of students as they begin classes, then leave on seasonal hiatus. But the busted roads and sidewalks have decreased accessibility to the restaurant so significantly that she is now struggling to stay afloat during the usual lulls.

“In December, I barely broke even,” Ladd said of the period when UTA was closed for the winter break. “I don’t pay my salary until everything else is paid. I get what’s left, which hasn’t been a lot.”

Despite the daily struggles she faces as a result of the Abram street project, Ladd still commends the City of Arlington on a job well done.

At least two of her patrons have experienced damage to their tire rims caused by the unstable condition of her property’s parking lot and roads. She says one of the incidents occurred directly in front of J.R. Bentley’s where a large pothole had formed.

“They came and repaired it the very next morning,” Ladd said.

While the rebuild has taken much longer than she hoped, Ladd remains optimistic that her small business will again flourish once it’s completed.

At the meeting, Ladd was told the construction on her side of the street was soon to slow down.

“I'm not throwing darts at you right now, I promise,” Ladd said at the meeting. “I know it's not your decision, but it just seems unfair that they did so much so quick and then they're going to slow it down.”

She was told at the meeting the work on Ladd’s end of the street is set to be finished around July 1. Nail assured her it was a short amount of road that would quickly be taken care of.

“We're not stopping,” he said. “We're coming your way and we're still going to be a year early on your section.”

The project was set to be finished in May 2020. At the meeting, Nail said the project was more likely to end in June or July of 2020. Project Manager Andrea Ruales said the project had not gone over budget despite delays.

Mission Arlington, a Christian-based volunteer center is also affected by the construction on Abram street, communications director and pastor Jim Burgins said.

But he was made clear about the effects that would happen by the city, so he didn’t get too many surprises, he said.

“We met with an architectural firm, and talked through the changes that the street will be having and how that might impact parking for us,” Burgins said.

He said the construction has resulted in more limited parking for Mission Arlington. He’s even noticed some people try to park in their spaces because there aren’t spots in nearby restaurants.

Historically, Mission Arlington has also offered free parking for UTA students who couldn’t afford a parking permit.

However, they were not able to do that this semester because of limited space.

He said the construction may add five minutes or so to his commute, but it’s all worth it.

“We love the community, and walkability is going to be nice because it’ll give more of a sense of neighborhood community,” Burgins said.

He adds that it is probably more difficult for their neighbors in the restaurant and bar business. But he also said the growing pains will be worth it for them as well.

“I'm sure it felt like maybe people wouldn't come to eat,” Burgins said. ‘'I’m sure it has affected some of that. But I think everyone knows that when it gets to the end it’s going to be so much better, and I think it'll bring more UTA students over too.”