May 15, 2008 Issue
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Classified Chestnut Hill Local Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or Winner of Two |
PennDOT project falls behind, heading into holiday season
The nine-month, $17 million Germantown Avenue Reconstruction Project has fallen weeks behind schedule and is now set to wrap up in mid-December — three weeks later than expected and smack in the middle of the Avenue’s busy holiday season. The timing could not be worse for already strained business owners in the affected area. During more than two years of negotiations with the local business community, the schedule was hammered out in such a way as to prevent disruption to holiday shopping, a critical time for small retail businesses. As Cresheim Valley Drive reopened on May 8, a full two weeks later than anticipated, business owners on both sides were expressing their concern and vexation with the latest project woes. “It is almost impossible to plan,” said Adrian Hickman, general manager of TLA video, which has a Chestnut Hill location at 7630 Germantown Avenue. “You can’t do specials or even schedule employees. It’s frustrating.” The Cresheim Valley Drive delay was the last in a series of delays that have crippled the intersection and lower part of Germantown Avenue outside of the Trolley Car Diner and New Covenant Church in the 7600 block of Germantown Avenue. According to PennDOT liaison Lou Marraffino the delays began when workers dug up the stone arch bridge at the corner of the intersection. “The condition of the bridge (most of which runs underground) required more repairs than we knew,” he said. To adapt and not lose time, the contractors moved down the Avenue into a second phase of the work, Marraffino said, leaving a specialty crew to fix the bridge. Further delays occurred due to the condition of the utility lines in the area, which were again more severely damaged upon excavation. According to Marraffino, the more extensive repairs required the utility companies to address them, which placed the construction at the mercy of these companies. In an attempt to make up some of the lost time, the contractor moved the work site down the Avenue beginning the next phase of the project. Many of the business owners have expressed frustration over the delays, claiming that the project is more than two months behind schedule. The initial project schedule had Germantown Avenue closed block-by-block for six to eight weeks at a time. The Avenue from Cresheim Valley Drive to Gowen Avenue has been closed to through traffic since January and will not reopen for another several weeks. Brewer’s Outlet owner Paul Egonopoulos said the delays are symbolic of an overarching problem with the state department of transportation. “PennDOT really doesn’t care,” he said. “Usually when you bring important issues to the right people, they get addressed. Here the state put up their middle finger to us.” Egonopoulos said he believes the delays are the contractor’s fault and that PennDOT is too embarrassed to admit it. “They are locked in bed with a contractor who is not performing,” he said. “They are embarrassed to admit they chose the wrong contractor.” PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum denies that there is any concern over New Jersey contractor J. Abonizio etc. “The contractor has been doing very well under difficult circumstances,” Blaum said. The problems that have arisen, said Marraffino, no one could have anticipated until the street was dug up. For example, with the stone bridge some of the utility lines that were supposed to be removed and repaired offsite were in such bad shape they could only be fixed at the site, while others that were not scheduled to be replaced had to be creating further delays. PennDOT also acknowledged that the Cresheim Valley Drive delay was egregious and will penalize Abonizio for the two additional weeks the road was closed. According to the contract, PennDOT will take $154,000 ($11,000 per day for 14 days) off the budget for what is called “road users liquidated damages” in the contract. The clause is specific to the Cresheim Valley Drive and Germantown Avenue intersection due to the volume of traffic that uses the area. To head off further delays with the utility lines however, Marraffino said, utility companies are going to perform repairs ahead of the contractor’s construction work. Marraffino said the contractor would also make up lost time by working concurrently on two phases of the project. He said it should not cause longer or more extensive closures along the Avenue, but might create a larger work zone during the subsequent phases. Still business owners are worried. With revenues down, TLA video reported 25 percent losses during the Cresheim Valley Drive closure, proprietors are looking at new marketing strategies to infuse their sales numbers. In late April, the Avenue businesses hired a team of marketing professionals to focus on drumming up business and visibility as part of the $90,000 in city grants that they Avenue group was awarded earlier this year. The group includes Tesia Barone, a local art director who has worked with the Mt. Airy Business Improvement District and the Trolley Car Diner, Pam Rosser Thistle, a public and community relations consultant, who has worked in Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill for many years and Kim Miller, a sales and marketing manager. The team has been working on creating an identity that will have both an immediate and long-lasting impact on the business corridor. “The marketing is aimed at creating excitement around the Avenue businesses to attract new customers and to make sure everyone knows that these businesses are still around and need the support during the construction,” said Thistle. Looking down the road also worries the business owners, said Egonopoulos. “After the construction it is going to be hard to get customers back,” he said. “It’s hard to change habits.” Contact Associate Editor Jennifer Katz at 215-248-8804 or jenn@chestnuthilllocal.com.
|
