The recent closing of a section of Hermitage Drive in Florence has forced students and campus transportation to find news ways of traveling to campus. The closing is the result of a needed bridge replacement that will last up to ten months, said UNA Police Chief Bob Pastula.

“It’s getting to the point where (the road bridge) can’t hold larger trucks, or busses would be running the risk by driving over them too,” Pastula said. “I think they are planning on being done by June of next year.”

UNA Police were informed that the bridge would be closing Oct. 7 by the Florence road department. The closing affects the route of one campus shuttle bus that travels to apartments along the connecting Helton Drive. 

The emergency route police use when responding to calls at the university’s east campus will also be affected, Pastula said.  

Police are currently working with Transloc, Inc. to update the GPS so that the shuttle running the new route will not appear to be straying from the designated path, he said.

“We will just go down Florence Boulevard,” he said “If we are running lights and siren it shouldn’t affect our response time.”

The closure will not affect police response to apartments along Helton Drive, as these are within the jurisdiction of the Florence Police Department and university police only serve as back-up response for these locations, Pastula said.

Students find this road closure annoying because it wastes valuable time and gas, said Bailey Witt, a senior.

“Well obviously its annoying, but it uses so much gas,” she said. “Taking any detour around the stadium is horrible on gas because that area has so many hills. The stop and go of all the traffic lights on Florence Boulevard and downtown doesn’t help either.”

Witt has been for forced to fill her gas tank twice in recent weeks for in-town travel, which has been made more difficult by cross-town traffic clutter caused by the closure, she said.

“With the road closed it’s really aggravating and I can tell that I’m having to fill up my car more often because of the detour,” said Jeri Willoughby, a senior. “I do a lot of going back and forth from downtown campus and my apartment so I’ve been trying to cut down on my trips. It’s just going to be trial and error for a few weeks to find the best routes.”

Cross-town traffic may vary for students depending on the time of day, said Felecia Crowder, a senior.

“Traffic might get a little crazy like in the morning and evening but what I do not like is having to drive around “America” just to get to Helton when I normally can cut through Hermitage,” Crowder said.

Crowder has found adjusting to new traffic patterns to be a headache, although she understands the city’s decision to rebuild the bridge, she said.

“I’m excited about the improvements I just wish they started the project earlier like during the summer when schools were out and there was better weather since it’s about to get colder,” Crowder said.

Editor’s note: information in an earlier article run by The Times Daily, suggests an earlier completion date and details design-improvements the new bridge will feature.