Throughout 14 years in the cheesecake business, Valery Jean-Bart has weathered his fair share of storms. But a week after finding his business along South Akard seemingly on a road to nowhere, Jean-Bart says he needs help to survive.
“Look, look, look. Right now, it is basically dead. It is not the same at all,” said Jean-Bart.
Val’s Blue Label is one of several businesses in the Cedars separated from downtown by the Ackard Bridge, which TXDOT demolished last week.
It’s part of a four-year project, topping $800 million to modernize I-30.
“When I saw it, I was like, where’s the road? I’m cycling, and you know, as a cyclist, detours like that are hard, because you literally have to go all the way around. It’s already a workout itself,” said customer Keaira Lee.
The detours won’t go away anytime soon.
The completion of the Ackard Bridge is at least a couple of years away, with the end of construction set for 2028.
“I know, as an engineer myself, right? There are strategies. There are things that you can do. There are rerouting strategies you can do. There are signs that can help us,” said Jean-Bart.
This week, Jean-Bart sent a letter requesting a meeting with city and TXDOT leaders.
He’s asked to discuss the current rerouting plan, signage that better supports access and navigation and the potential of reconfiguring a bike lane that now dead ends to provide more parking.
City Council Member Jesse Moreno’s office and TXDOT have both agreed to sit down.
In a statement, TXDOT told NBC 5:
“The I-30 Canyon project has been years in the planning, and there has been close collaboration with the city to identify strategic closures and detours for the cross-street bridges being replaced to minimize traffic disruptions as much as possible.”
“My lease is still here. It’s still kicking, so we want to make sure we can have that conversation, and we can have better ways, better strategies to help us all,” said Jean-Bart.
