Oct 2, 2006 By Steve Ferris 6 min read

Ted Lacey said he has earned the trust of many customers in the 47 years he has owned and worked at Chesler’s Furniture located along Route 51 in North Union Township. Ever since a massive road construction project related to the Mon/Fayette Expressway started in June, Lacey said it has been those loyal customers that have kept the business afloat.

Most others have apparently found it too difficult to navigate the lane restrictions, detour signs and fluorescent orange road markers topped with flashing lights on Route 51 to enter Chesler’s.

A handful of neighboring businesses on the other side of the torn up highway said their businesses have also been suffering since the project began. Active work has shifted away from Route 51, but traffic restrictions remain in place.

Chesler’s and the stores in the adjoining Fayette Plaza Shopping Center as well as the businesses along the northbound lanes of Route 51 appear to be on an island almost completely surrounded by the $35.7-million project, which is part of the $450 million Uniontown-to-Brownsville section of the expressway that the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is building.

Known as section 51A2, the project in North Union Township includes reconstruction Route 51 from the Fayette Plaza to the bridge over Route 119. The existing bridge is being demolished and will be replaced with a new span.

A turning lane will be added to Route 51 and a new traffic light will be installed at the Route 119 ramps.

Another light will be installed at the intersection of Route 51 and the new 1.5-mile concrete Northgate Highway.

It will run from Route 51 at the existing Confer Drive intersection to Route 40 at Fan Hollow Road, and provide access to an expressway interchange at Old Pittsburgh Road.

Northgate Highway will be five lanes from Route 40 to the Wendy Drive area and then narrow to four lanes before intersecting with Route 51.

A section of Northgate Highway from Route 51 to Wendy Drive will open in August 2007 and the rest of the road will open in November 2007.

The reconstruction of the southbound lanes of Route 51 is scheduled to be completed in November. Traffic is restricted to one lane in each direction on the northbound side of the road.

Next year, traffic will be diverted to the southbound lanes while the northbound lanes are being rebuilt.

The concrete Jersey barrier that separated the north and southbound lanes now separate the traffic on the northbound side from the construction work on the southbound side.

When the work started, Lacey said construction workers initially refused to remove some of the barriers so customer could enter to his parking lot.

“I’ve been her for 47 years and this is ridiculous what they’re doing to me,” Lacey said.

He said he talked to the North Union Township supervisors about the problem and an opening was created in the barriers the next day.

Supervisors Rob Tupta and Curtis Matthews said aside from the problem Lacey had, they’ve received few complaints from business owners.

They said many residents had questions about detours and traffic patterns when the work started, but few people have called with complaints.

When problems arise, the supervisors said TCMS-Maguire, construction manager for the project, takes care of them.

“They work with us as much as possible,” Matthews said. “I think they’re handling it very well.”

Maguire is the liaison between the supervisors and the contractor, Walsh Construction of Chicago, Ill.

Matthews said any township business or resident experiencing a problem related to the project should call the supervisors and they will raise the issue with Maguire.

He said he called the construction manager at home on a Saturday to advise him of a problem and workers arrived and began fixing it within a half hour.

“They’re right there when you need them,” Matthews said.

Tupta said the supervisors meet with Maguire monthly to receive updates on the project.

In the long run, Tupta said, Chesler’s and other area business will benefit from the traffic Northgate Highway will bring.

In the short term, however, the supervisors do not doubt that the construction is keeping customers away from businesses.

“It’s got to be hurting all those businesses,” Matthews said.

“I’m irritated. Sales are down,” said Marie Spegar, co-owner of Outdoors Ltd. on Route 51.

Mark Metzger, manager of Cossell’s Auto and Truck Sales, located next door to Outdoors Ltd, said his sales have also declined since the project started.

There is no way to protect the vehicles on his lot from the dust, dirt and mud from the construction work, Metzger said.

He recalled how one potential customer saw the dirty engine compartment of a car and thought it had been recovered from a flood.

“I opened the hood and the customer asked if it was a flood car,” Metzger said. “For me to wash a car is ridiculous.”

Spegar said customers have complained about the traffic congestion in the construction area, but her store is fortunate to have a rear entrance off of Oliver Road.

Metzger said both front and read entrances to his shop were blocked at times. “I was here, nobody could get in.”

Chuck Hoover, manager of the Giant Eagle in Fayette Plaza, said he has noticed a slight drop in sales since the work started, but the project has attracted some new customers.

Hoover said people have parked in his lot to watch the busy construction site and then come in to the store to buy something.

He said the traffic light that will be installed at Northgate Highway will make entering the lot easier for customers traveling from the direction of Uniontown.

“There’s a lot of positives with it also,” Hoover said.

Lacey, Spegar and Metzger said their electricity; water and phone services were shut off periodically while work was being done on Route 51.

“The electricity was shut down almost every day for a while,” Spegar said. “The phones were down and so were the computers.”

She said a gas line project in front of her store last year also negatively impacted sales.

Turnpike commission spokesman Joe Agnello said the construction contract requires the contractor to maintain access to businesses during the project, but makeshift or temporary access set up during construction can be less convenient for customers.

“Sometimes this replacement access isn’t as convenient as regular access,” Agnello said.

He said the turnpike commission’s southwest regional office in New Stanton, where he works, has received “maybe a handful” of complaints, but he acknowledged that large-scale projects inevitably cause some problems.

He said the project could result in a drop in retail traffic, but the work will be done as soon as possible.

“We’re sorry for the inconvenience,” Agnello said. “The sooner the work gets done the quicker there won’t be any complaints.”

Lacey said he will have constant reminders of the project.

A utility pole was moved into his parking lot from the edge of Route 51, which is being widened to make room for a center turning lane.

“I was here when this was a two-lane road,” Lacey said. “Every time they’ve expanded, they’ve taken property from the southbound side. I still pay taxes on property to the middle of the road.”