As families scrambled in the chaos of the first-day-of-school rush, commuters had to deal with one more roadblock on Tuesday as Alameda Avenue is permanently closed at the railroad tracks in Azusa.

The street is closed to through traffic between 9th Street and Santa Fe Avenue for construction of the Azusa Downtown Station, part of the 11.5-mile Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension light rail project.

“Closing Alameda Avenue is important for the project,” said Lisa Levy Buch, spokeswoman for the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. “It means that we have completed the freight track relocation between San Gabriel Boulevard and Citrus Avenue, which allows us to start working on the two stations in city.”

Once construction on the Azusa Downtown and the APU/Citrus College stations are underway, work can begin on laying the light rail track, she added.

With the permanent closure and the ongoing construction slowing down traffic throughout the city, Mayor Joe Rocha said it is important to look at the overall effects the detours have on residents.

“That’s something we need to look at, how this closure is going to impact traffic headed southbound,” Rocha said. “I think what we need to do is educate our citizens on how many avenues we have to exit from the northern part of town to the southern part of town.”

In addition to Pasadena Avenue, which reopened Monday, commuters can use Palm Drive and Dalton, San Gabriel, Vernon and Todd avenues to access Foothill Boulevard and the 210 Freeway, he said.

Though utility work on Virginia Avenue is finished and the road reopened Friday, future grade crossing improvements will require a closure, Levy Buch said.

Businesses on Alameda and Santa Fe avenues will remain open and accessible during construction, though traffic needing to cross the railroad tracks will be detoured to Azusa or Dalton avenues.

Construction of the Azusa Downtown Station will occur from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, though longer hours, night and Sunday work may be needed, construction officials said.

For more information, go to www.foothillextension.org, call 626-324-7098, or visit the public information office at 1300 W. Optical Drive, Suite 500, Azusa.