Joor Road Closure Will Test Our Patience

    The Joor and Gurney intersection will be closed all summer with construction starting next Monday on Central’s newest roundabout, requiring many of us to plan ahead, take detours, and most especially, be patient.
    Most of Central’s north-south traffic in the center of the city crosses Hooper at Joor or Sullivan.  The closing of Joor for the entire summer is likely to cause frustrating delays at the Sullivan and Hooper intersection, and can easily affect the Greenwell Springs and Blackwater Road intersections with Hooper Road as well.  Expect those delays and plan ahead, but mainly, be patient.
    I live in Jackson Park and will be right there with some of the most inconvenienced of you.  However, I am a big fan of the safety and improved traffic flow of roundabouts so I will try to remember that and be patient as I creep down Sullivan Road in traffic each day.
    Fortunately, this project has been scheduled to take place while school is out, avoiding the normal traffic to the school complex on Sullivan and Central Private on Gurney.  If the project goes as scheduled and weather delays are minimal the intersection could re-open by the time school begins in August.
    Despite that considerate planning, Sullivan, Blackwater, and Greenwell Springs are the ONLY alternate north-south routes in Central across Hooper Road.  So plan ahead, leave early, and remember that we are paying the traffic price now in exchange for a much improved traffic flow at Joor and Gurney beginning this fall.  That will be Good News for a Great City.