FORTVILLE — While construction is said to still be on schedule for Broadway Street, there have been some challenges for businesses and the people of Fortville as they learn their way around the construction changes and making use of the temporary driveways that have been installed by the Town of Fortville.
Since the start of construction by Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) and Milestone on Broadway, one business claims to have suffered since work began back during the summer.
Adam Fuchs, current general manager at Broadway Diner, has been with the diner for the past 19 years and said that business has been down 60%. With that, Fuchs said he had lost some workers that had been there for approximately five years.
“It’s difficult for me and for the employees mostly,” Fuchs said. “I hate to see them not make any money. We’ve had to cut back in the kitchen, we’ve had to cut back all the way across.”
Since then and with the progress of construction, INDOT and Milestone put in a traffic switch on Nov. 9, allowing two-way traffic through through the town, and started construction on the north side of Broadway Street.
The traffic switch has allowed access to the diner off of Broadway Street.
“It’s helped a little since they opened up the other side — going both ways — but still, it’s still way down,” Fuchs said.
Deliveries have also become easier since the traffic switch, but still can pose a challenge as Fuchs said they used to have approximately 130 feet of entrance space and now it has been cut down to one entrance of approximately 30 feet. Fuchs said that luckily they also have their back entrance.
One worker named April at Speedway gas station said that during her time working there over the past nine years the store had always been 24/7, but since construction they have had to close some hours due to not being able to get fuel deliveries.
“When you don’t have an entrance off the main highway it makes a big difference,” April said.
April said that there were some issues that were “ironed out” to allow tankers to be able to deliver. Since then, there have been multiple deliveries.
Town council president Tonya Davis said that she had tried to contact them before the issue had happened, and now that they have contact, they are able to communicate better.
“We did get them access for fuel and I’m going to work on maybe getting them access just for business, too, at that same entrance,” Davis said.
As far as access, Kyleigh Cramer, Public Relations Director for the East Central District for INDOT, said that access to the north side of the street is via Staat Street on the west end of Fortville and Ind. 13 on the northeast side of Fortville.
Cramer also said that all businesses had side street access except ROCK, Pizza King and N.A.P.A., where they can all access via McCarty Street. Gardner’s Towing, Greeks Pizza and the Joint Shop have access via Gardner’s temporary driveway and that the day care and residential location behind the daycare all have temporary driveways for access to U.S. 36 eastbound and westbound.
Davis said that they have had signs posted by the temporary entrances that list the businesses along Broadway Street and signs at each end of town for Main Street businesses and the northside access.
Davis also said that the recent closing of Dairy Queen had nothing to do with the construction and that the property has been for sale for several years. She said that a developer had bought the property but not the franchise.
Davis said that business was slow and service was not up to standards despite people trying to give them as much business as possible.
“I think their business was hurting anyway but they’ve been looking for a buyer for quite some time,” Davis said. “I’m not aware of who bought it or what the plans are or anything about that property yet.”
At the town council meeting on Dec. 4, Grant Abbott with Milestone shared an update and said all southbound roads are open with the exception of Maple Street. Abbott said that over the next couple weeks they will be working with utility partners to get relocations done on the northside which will then allow work to begin.
Abbott also said that Duke Energy currently has someone in town who is working on relocating the power poles as well as the overhead lights, trying to keep as many of those lights working as they move them to the south side. Once that is finished, Abbott said they hope to get water line laid and plan to start digging after the holidays.
Davis said that she is a part of INDOT and Milestone’s progress meetings and they are working ahead of schedule.
“As long as the weather holds out for their winter work, it should finish up way above scheduled because they are just saying now it’ll be November of next year, but I’m thinking it will be more like September,” Davis said.
