Streetcar work on Santa Fe expected to wrap up before Chihuahuas home opener

Opening Day at Southwest University Park is Thursday and some are asking if road construction related to the streetcar project on Santa Fe Street will be completed on time.

The plan, according to a streetcar project spokesman, is to have Santa Fe cleared of all construction by Thursday morning, opening it back up completely for the first time in months.

ABC-7 has learned there will still be some lane restrictions on other streets like Franklin St.

There will also be a couple of closures. Stanton Street will be closed to northbound traffic and Main Street will be closed to westbound traffic.

Over the past several weeks, concrete has been poured along Sante Fe Street in several different sections and traffic has been limited to one lane in each direction.

Construction workers have been waiting on the concrete “to cure.” Although it’s safe for people to walk on, it takes a week for it to cure enough to handle vehicular traffic.

Streetcar Project Spokesman Martin Bartlett told ABC-7 those seven days of curing time will be up by Thursday morning, clearing the way for what’s expected to be tens of thousands of baseball fans flocking Downtown for what the Chihuahuas are calling their championship weekend.

“It’s been a long time since we had a home game,” Bartlett said. “Lots of folks are chomping at the bit to make it back to Southwest University Park. We absolutely understand that. We’re excited too. That’s why we made sure that this work was coordinated to be wide open, to have all lanes of Sante Fe Street open before opening pitch on Thursday Night.”

No one is more excited about that than Chihuahuas front office officials, who have dealt with Santa Fe Street construction since the Ballpark was built in 2014.

“Access should be much easier than it was toward the tail end of last season,” Chihuahuas President Alan Ledford said. “We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone back for the 2017 season.”