New Construction Work Along A Midtown Street

Get ready for more construction work affecting a busy Midtown street.
Mobile Area Water and Sewer System officials are planning to replace sewer lines along Sage avenue near Emogene Street.
They held a meeting Thursday night to talk about what's coming up.
People who remember the work on Florida Street are paying close attention to this project.
Black Classics Books and Gifts is on Sage Avenue near Emogene.
One of the people who works there saw signs about construction work in the area.
Donna Pitts said, "I'm hoping it won't end up like Florida Street."
The city's drainage project on nearby Florida Street took three years to complete.
It virtually shut down traffic along the street, and sharply dropped business at stores along the thoroughfare.
Business people along Sage don't want similar problems.
Pitts said, "I can't pay bills if I don't have customers."
But Barbara Shaw with the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System, or MAWSS, said, "Businesses have nothing to fear from this project."
This work involves MAWSS replacing old sewer lines.
Shaw said, "We think this is going to have minimal effect on traffic."
MAWSS officials said only one lane would be closed on Sage.
The center lane and the other lane would remain open.
What's more, water officials say the contractor is only planning to shut down the one lane on Sage for one weekend.
Charmie Johnson is one of the owners of Feminine Hair Parlor on Emogene near Sage.
She came to the meeting to hear about the plans.
Afterwards, she said, "As far as my business, its not going to affect me and everything is going to be wonderful."
The project is expected to start within the next few weeks.
It will also replace sewer lines on the land behind the homes and backyards of about 20 people on Sage Avenue.