Silver Lake traffic delays have been delayed

The closure of West Silver Lake Boulevard at Rowena Avenue that had been scheduled to take place this month has been postponed until February, said officials with the DWP. The delay in the road closure, which is related to the installation of a new water line, maybe welcomed by motorists but they won’t be celebrating for long. The expected five month long-closure of West Silver Lake south of Rowena (which will remain open to locals only from the south off Angus St.) will be followed by major construction and road closures of Rowena and Glendale Boulevard to the east, which promises to snarl traffic across the northern edge of Silver Lake.

All the digging is related to a DWP project called the River Supply Conduit Improvement Lower Reach – Unit 4. The work through Silver Lake involves installing replacing and old conduit with nearly two-miles of new pipe – some of it eight-feet wide – under such streets as Riverside Drive, Glendale Boulevard, Rowena Avenue and W. Silver Lake Blvd. Already, there have been some temporary lane closures – such as today – on Rowena and W. Silver Lake – in preparation for the major work to follow.

“Access along Rowena Ave will be available during construction,” said DWP spokeswoman Stephanie Interiano in an email. “However, temporary traffic control plans will be in place during construction that will affect the current configuration of traffic lanes and parking spaces.”

The closure of West Silver Lake Blvd. at Rowena will block the path many Silver lake residents use to travel from their homes near the reservoir to stores and markets near Rowena and Hyperion and points north. Many more motorists and residents will face delays and detours later this year and next as major works shifts to Rowena and Glendale boulevard.

Silver Lake residents and motorists better get used to all the road work. A timeline of the project (in a PDF) shows that construction won’t be expected to end until 2012.