Rain is to blame for slow construction and continued traffic problems on East State Street.
Safety-Service Director Wayne Key said the rain stops all construction on the $7 million East State Street project. Once the road has been torn up to the dirt underneath, rain turns the dirt to mud, affects elevation, causes sinks and ripples if the road is laid on wet ground and prevents asphalt and concrete laying. Rain also prevents construction workers from transporting rubble and material to the waste site because the site's ground turns to mud and trucks can easily become stuck.
The work is being done in two phases. Phase I begins at the Engineers office, 555 East State Street, and goes to Long John Silvers, 921 East State Street. Phase II goes from Long John Silvers to the Dollar General, 1016 East State Street.
The south section of Phase I has been completed and the north section is being dug out now. Phase II is complete. Once Phase I is finished, both phases will receive a final 2-inch coat of asphalt.
Key said the project, originally estimated to be finished by the end of April, has been set far back by the amount of rain this spring and summer.
He said he hopes the sub-base of the road can be finished by early October so workers can go back and overlay it, but the weather has made a completion date impossible to predict.
Businesses on East State Street have been patient with the city while enduring a loss of business. Key said about 99 percent have been understanding, but he knows the effect construction has had on revenues.
(Businesses) have been patient and tolerant
he said. I think now they can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
One of the businesses that can see that light is Payless Shoes, 917 East State Street. Manager Lisa Shaulis said while the back to school season has been pretty consistent, she knows the store has been hurt. Earlier in the week, she said a customer told her he had waited 45 minutes to get into the store.
People don't want to mess with traffic to get to us Shaulis said.
Reggie Byrd, the store manager at McDonald's, 922 East State Street, said business has been cut about in half from its usual $1.4 million during the construction.
He said the losses have been tough and have even forced some businesses to close. Because he can no longer predict when his store will be busy, Byrd has been unable to hire staff as he did in past summers.
People have to do something. You can't have 4 or 5 guys around to mop one area he said. It's not good business.
Byrd said he understand some of the slow construction is due to the weather, but it has not rained everyday. All he can do is be patient.
You can't go out and help them
he said. But I'll be glad when they're done.
However, both Byrd and Sahulis are optimistic that business will return to the level it was at before the construction and the extra lanes will actually help business, making the project worth the short-term losses.
Besides the East State project, the city is also doing work on Court Street, the Waste Water Treatment Plant, the bike path and the skate park.
The city is replacing old traffic signals on President and Court Street and Carpenter and Court Street. There will no longer be overhead wires but mast arms. Key said a mast arm was a metal pole about half of a football goal post that contains wires that would normally hang over the street. The city also is replacing some bricks on Court Street. The projects on Court Street, which should be completed by Sept. 5, are paid for by block grants and total about $100,000.
The Waste Water Treatment Plant, 557A East State Street, is receiving a new $2.4 million one million gallon digester, which is used to cleanse the water. Key said it would be under construction for at least the next year and would be dependent on the weather.
The bike path is being extended 1.7 miles from the Waste Water Treatment Plant to the Pepsi Plant, paralleling East State Street. The $400,000 extension should be done in two or three weeks.
The last major project the city is working on is the skate park. The area has been elevated above the flood plain, the drainage system is in place and wooden forms for the concrete have been setup. The project, which costs about $300,000, was started July 28 but no deadline has been set, though Key said it could be finished in late October or November.
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Matt Hutton
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Orange construction barrels block the main entranceway to Athens Mall on East State Street a few weeks ago. Weather has pushed back the construction project?s completion date.
