EXETER — It’s been four weeks since a water main break over Hick’s Creek occurred between the Exeter Avenue/Tunkhannock Avenue split to the Slocum Avenue/Route 92 split. In its wake are business owners who are not happy.
Route 92 caved in on Feb. 16 due to a water main break at Hick’s Creek. After further inspection, it was determined the bridge’s corrugated steel water tunnel had collapsed, creating an even bigger headache for PennDOT.
“Upon further investigation, we realized the bridge that’s in that location became unsafe and we decided to close the roadway,” Rich Roman, acting PennDOT District 4 executive said. “Since then, we’ve been developing some options to address the bridge, address utilities and open the road.”
An emergency declaration has been put into place by PennDOT in order to access consultant assistance as soon as possible to come up with options to remedy the problem.
Roman said currently there is no firm date on when the project to repair and replace the bridge will happen. Everything depends on the analyses of all options available to PennDOT.
“It’s only a two week old issue and we’re still in a developmental stage right now,” Roman said. “Businesses are being impacted, but we need to make sure we are doing the right thing and we only do it once and be done. We have a lot of people working on this.”
PennDOT estimates 7,000 vehicles travel Route 92 over Hick’s Creek daily. The current detour route is approximately five miles.
The closing of Route 92/Exeter Avenue has affected transportation schedules and routes for Wyoming Area School District, Keystone Automotive Warehouse trucks, businesses located near the creek, residents and mail delivery.
Several businesses in that stretch of highway are feeling the pinch of the road closure. Business owners believe PennDOT is slow in making announcements on a timeline to fix the problem and there are plenty of rumors circulating.
Since the road collapsed, Robin Hill Florist has seen a significant drop in sales. Access to the floral shop has been confusing to a lot of their customers, according to Errol O’Brien, of Robin Hill.
“We’re getting no traffic,” O’Brien said. “Nobody is even coming down 92 anymore. We’re not even seeing any foot traffic. We’ve had customers call us, asking if there’s any way to get to our flower shop.”
O’Brien and his wife Kathleen, owner of Robin Hill, have a base of regular customers, but feel they are losing the casual shopper.
“We usually see foot traffic every day and we’re not seeing that anymore,” O’Brien said. “The casual customer that wants a delivery that normally would walk in are calling to see if we’re open. We also have had plenty of customers, especially the older people that want to come in, see what you got, want to talk to you, and they’re not coming in now.”
O’Brien said the closed road affects their deliveries, also, as drivers are forced to take the long detour.
Recently, signs were placed stating the road is open to local traffic on both ends of the Route 92 detour.
Frank Maher, president of Frank Insurance, Inc., whose business office is on Route 92 just a few yards from the creek, is not happy with what he’s hearing.
“For us, it’s a blow because insurance is about convenience and we don’t have that anymore and it has cut our walk-in traffic down to zero,” Maher said. “We have heard they may start (construction) in August because they (PennDOT) have to order a new conduit (metal tunnel) and maybe it will be finished by November.”
Maher said he’s shocked to hear it could take that long because Hick’s Creek is a part of the flood control system and it’s not unusual for the creek to fill rapidly under heavy rains or flood conditions.
“I’ve heard sewage is leaking; the sewer pipe under there is cracked,” Maher said. “It’s a bigger job than it looks like because it involves the flood control and because it does have the sewer and water pipes that run under and through it.”
Maher has been in contact with Exeter Borough officials, asking them to keep him posted.
“Knowledge is power and I have no knowledge regarding the highway,” Maher said. “Not getting any information is disconcerting.”
Maher said thousands of vehicles travel by his office every day and, without accessibility, he is considering relocating his office.
Across the street from Robin Hill Florist sits Dowse’s Suds and Grub Bar and Restaurant. Owner Kevin Dowse said the road closure hasn’t really affected his business.
“People come down Stevens Lane to Bennett Street and come right in, or they see the road is open to local traffic 1/10th of mile and they come down,” Dowse said. “Some people from Harding haven’t been able to make it down or don’t want to run the gauntlet down Packer Avenue but our regulars know we’re open.”
The only drop in patrons Dowse has noticed is in the afternoon but, once the work day is over, the bar/restaurant fills up.
An employee of Sliderz Bar did not want to comment but an unidentified customer said he’s noticed less people in the establishment since the road closure.
