By Matthew Monks
“Thank God the bridge is back,” said Bozhiai, owner of my Favorite Butcher Shop, which laid off more than 90 percent of its staff when business dried up after the bridge closed in late July.But like a handful of locals who welcomed the opening of the temporary overpass Monday, his enthusiasm was tempered by a mixed bag of reservations.For one, the prefabricated steel structure, which was originally to open by Thanksgiving, came too late to bolster critical holiday sales for the 200 plus merchants along Steinway Street. And they said it is poorly designed with two lanes for northbound traffic only. Vehicles moved both ways before a 60-ton slab of concrete fell from the overpass, nearly killing a Long Island Man on his way to work in Manhattan who is now suing the city for $21 million.The city Department of Transportation said the temporary bridge, which sits in the footprint of the portion of the overpass that was removed in July, will be used for 14 months. Two-way traffic will be restored in nine months. “We can't jump for joy because it still will remain a hardship until it is fixed completely the right way it should have been done six months ago,” said Julian Wager, president of the Astoria Local Development Corporation, which represents 300 local merchants.Vimal Gambhir, 50, co-owner of a Sunoco Station at the Corner of Astoria Boulevard and Steinway Street, also hoped for a quicker return of two-way traffic.”We want them to do it fast,” he said.He was selling between 90,000 and 100,000 gallons of fuel a month before the accident. Afterwards, business plummeted to 30,000 gallons a month. He was among the scores of shopkeepers frustrated when the city announced in November that safety concerns would delay the overpass reopening until after the holidays.City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. and state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, both Astoria Democrats, blasted the Transportation Department and organized a meeting in November for merchants to voice their concerns.City officials offered to connect downtrodden business owners with low-interest loans and said they would fund newspaper ads touting the area in local newspapers. But Wager, the development corporation president, said merchants still suffered over the holidays. Overall, he estimated business was down 20 percent to 25 percent from last year. “You could see it as you traversed the streets,” Wager said. “The crowds were just not there. The last two days they were there. But that hardly makes up for the season.”While Vallone and Gianaris were happy to greet the temporary overpass, they also said there was still work to be done.”I am pleased that the Steinway Street temporary overpass has opened, and I look forward to the day it functions as it was – with vehicles in both directions and with pedestrian traffic,” Gianaris said. “I am hopeful that the businesses in the area will now be able to get back on their feet.””This opening will provide some much needed relief for the affected businesses,” added Vallone. “Obviously, more must be done, and we will all continue to work diligently to ensure that traffic flows efficiently until the entire bridge is reopened.” The complete restoration of the 67-year-old bridge is expected to take as long as 24 months and cost $15.3 million.Reach reporter Matthew Monks by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
