Business owners along West Lafayette’s State Street are bracing for a complete shut-off of vehicle access while contractors rebuild the road next year.
City Development Director Erik Carlson on Wednesday updated the redevelopment commission on the project timeline and road closures.
He says pedestrians and delivery trucks will have access to local businesses during prime construction season.
But State Street will be closed to vehicles between Salisbury Street and McCormick Road from mid-May until early August, while many Purdue students are away from campus.
Carlson says the goal is to minimize the impact on local businesses, and their customers.
That 90-day timeframe is tight, and Mayor John Dennis says the contract includes buffer days to compensate for weather delays and unexpected issues with underground utilities.
“We made sure that some of those contingencies were placed in there, and then the burden falls on the team that’s building the road,” Dennis says
The owner of Von’s Shops, John von Erdmannsdorff, says he expects his business will suffer, but survive, just as it did when the city switched State Street from two-way traffic to one-way traffic in 1991.
“Whenever streets are torn up, sales disappear entirely,” von Erdmannsdorff says. “Sometimes even minor changes in them end up causing many businesses to close. I hope everyone can weather that kind of closure for several months.”
He says the final product, which changes State Street back to two-way traffic, may provide better access to his business.
But, von Erdmannsdorff says he’s still concerned the road won’t be reopened by the time students return in early August.
Redevelopment Commission President Larry Oates says the contract includes financial incentives for the contractor to finish on time, as well as penalties if there are delays.
“That may require, depending on what happens, some night time work by the contractor and the like,” Oates says. “And they are up to the task. That is part of how we structured this deal. They understand that. We understand that, and we are going to make this happen.”
Carlson says drivers can sign up for traffic alerts and get updates on road closures online at the website the city has set up for the project online at statestreetwl.com.