ORLANDO, Fla. – Work is expected to pick up Friday morning to dismantle a large section of unstable scaffolding on the side of a building in downtown Orlando.
Located along South Orange Avenue, the buckled scaffolding has now had that road and others shut down for more than a week in the following areas:
- South Orange Avenue from Central Avenue to Jackson Street.
- Pine Street Garland Avenue to Court Avenue.
- Church Street Garland Avenue to Court Avenue.
The following areas were closed to pedestrian traffic as well:
- East of 55 West to Court Street on Church Street.
- 120 South Orange Ave. to Jackson Street
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The closures are expected to last into next week as crews take apart the metal frame.
Business owners in the area were forced to temporarily close, and though some have since been allowed to reopen with protective measures in place, others tell News 6 they’ve lost thousands of dollars in sales.
“As you can see, the restaurant is empty now because it’s very difficult to come to downtown Orlando,” said Yehya Rizeq, owner at Crepe Delicious on Church Street. “... If we are talking about 10 days now, it’s like $5,000 losses.”
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s message to these businesses shut down for a second weekend in a row was a call for patience, saying safety remains the top priority.
“It’s going to be a process and we’ll learn as we go just how quickly that will go,” Dyer said.
According to a spokesperson for Balfour Beatty — the contractor overseeing a construction project at the building where the scaffolding is located, now working with engineers to execute a deconstruction plan — the process is expected to take about a week, but a real idea of the time needed will be had once that work actually begins.
Another issue crews will contend with could be the weather, as a tropical wave is expected to increase Central Florida’s rain chances heading into the weekend.
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