Elm Grove Businesses Brace for Months-Long Closure of Monument Bridge
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WHEELING -- There were a host of different emotions this week from Elm Grove business owners, as they looked toward Monday, when Monument Bridge will close until November for repairs.
The bridge, the oldest in West Virginia, is part of National Road. And for months, motorists will need to find alternate routes to travel that part of the road. Passenger cars can use one of many options. The official West Virginia Division of Highways detour -- the one that larger vehicles like tractor-trailers must use -- takes drivers onto Interstate 70 and exiting either at National Road near the Elm Grove Crossing Mall or at Washington Ave to drive back toward Elm Grove.
Some business owners near the bridge anticipated a drop in sales. Many maintained a positive outlook on their ability to weather the impending closure. Others were not ready to think about the closure until Monday.
Patsy's Pizza owner Kelly Mitchem anticipates a severe impact on her business as traffic is "already bad" in the area.
“Even with the bridge open, traffic was bad, so this is just going to be terrible," said Mitchem. "Trying to take the interstate exit by Arby's can take almost 20 minutes between (3 p.m. and 4 p.m.) now, so can you imagine how bad things will get by closing that bridge?"
One of the main issues of the closure for Mitchem is that the semi-trucks that deliver materials to the store will now have to take the state's recommended Interstate 70 detour.
"The semis could not make it across Schilling Bridge, and they can't go up behind Bridge Street," noted Mitchem. "This will be hard for us, but I understand it needs to be done."
Apart from causing delays in supplies to the store, Mitchem believes the closure will also greatly cut into her profits. She noted that the closure time frame, which will last until the end of the year, covers the two busiest seasons for the store - summer and the holidays.
"We are just slammed at those times of the year, so I don't even know how we're going to make it if our business drops a lot," said Mitchem. "I may have to let employees go."
Patsy's is located at the beginning of one of the detours smaller passenger vehicles may use to avoid the closure. Drivers can turn left at the restaurant onto Lumber Avenue to head towards the Shilling Bridge and then Interstate 70. Mitchem anticipates major traffic congestion on National Road in front of her restaurant due to the detour.
"I think it's going to be hectic, we'll probably have customers waiting in line just to turn into our parking lot," said Mitchem. "It's probably going to take an hour to get to the store, so I just don't see people coming now."
Mitchem also worries that Patsy's parking lot may become a shortcut for motorists during the construction.
"People will be cutting through our parking lot because they think they can go a little faster," said Mitchem. "People already cut through our parking lot now and fly through here. I'm worried for my employees who take orders to cars in the parking lot."
Though the restaurant has a dedicated customer base who specifically seek out Patsy's, Mitchem fears that cravings for her pizza will not outweigh the inconvenience of driving in Elm Grove on Monday.
"We have an awesome clientele, but I just don't know if a lot of them will be willing to deal with all that traffic because it's going to be worse than normal," said Mitchem. "I know everybody says, 'They gotta have their Patsy's,' so I guess we'll see how badly they want it now."
While the closure loomed heavy on Mitchem's mind, Chayo's Street Tacos Assistant Manager Daniel Martinez admitted he had not considered the closure too much.
"You're just kind of waiting to see what happens," explained Martinez. "I mean, we're a little worried because we don't know for sure what's going to happen, but it's a little hard to know right now."
Martinez's main concern is that the closure may limit parking for the restaurant. The parking lot next to the bridge, which could be used by customers going to Chayo's and other neighboring businesses, will be closed during construction for workers' equipment and vehicles.
With no designated parking lot near the restaurant, Martinez worries that the closure may make parking even more hectic.
"There's a lot of traffic along this road, so we normally have customers park along the street outside our building," noted Martinez. "Street parking is the only parking we have, so we're a little worried about where people are going to park because if they close the area leading up to the bridge, there will be even less parking space."
On the other side of National Road at Wheelcraft Bicycles, owner Andrew Hollis said next week would be hectic in Elm Grove while drivers adjusted to the closure. He estimated traffic would be backed up to National Road near Wheeling Park between 3 to 6 p.m. every day.
"It's going to take a week or so to figure out how the traffic flows," explained Hollis. "I'm curious how backed up traffic will get over at Shilling Bridge and Junior Avenue."
Hollis believes his store will no longer have an afternoon rush, as customers will not want to weather the traffic. Though he expects fewer customers through his doors during that time, Hollis does not think he will see an overall loss of business to his store.
"I don't think we're going to lose business because people go out of their way to seek out the bikes because it's like buying a car," noted Hollis. "Buying a bike is not an impulse stop most drivers make, so we may be a little affected, but I think other businesses will have it worse."
Bullfrogs and Butterflies Owner Sarah Lloyd was trying to remain positive that the bridge was being updated while not focusing too much on its potential impact on her business. She admitted that the impending project was a "little nerve-wracking" as she was unsure what to expect.
"I know that the bridge needs to be done and that project has been in the works for years," noted Lloyd. "I'm glad that it's going to get done, and we'll just do what we can to stay open and keep people coming in."
Lloyd hopes her customer base will still patronize the store during the closure to mitigate potential business loss due to traffic. She expects her customers will take the Interstate 70 detour to visit the store when the area becomes congested.
"We've been in business for 18 years, and stuff like this has never hurt our business," added Lloyd. "Whenever things happen like this or another children's store opening nearby, I get a little worried, but we always keep our main local customer base."
Patty's Hair Shop owner Patty Contraguerro also believes her store can weather closure. She does not anticipate too big of a cut into her business as her store receives a lot of walk-ins and has plenty of parking space.
"I've been in business for so long that I know to stay calm when times like this happen," said Contraguerro. "I think there will be a big back-up of cars in front of my store so it will be a little harder to navigate the road. I feel bad for businesses that are newer and don't have good parking."
Contraguerro also found the project length "frustrating," with Silver Chopsticks owner Angela Truong echoing this point.
“Construction always takes so long," said Truong. "I just wish there was something that could be done to speed it up. At this point, there is nothing we can do, so we just have to tough it out."
Like Contraguerro and Lloyd, Truong believes her local customer base will keep her restaurant afloat during the closure.
"I think we will be fine because our customers are local and can find a way here," said Truong. "I'm not worried, it will just be a little inconvenient for me and everybody to get to work."
Elite Massage Therapy Owner and Elm Grove Business Association President Kristy Ferguson said the congestion could be viewed as a "positive or negative" for business owners and shoppers. Since Ferguson's business is located on Lumber Avenue, which will now see a lot more traffic as a detour for the closure, she believes more business will be brought to her door.
This closure may help me in the long term," said Ferguson. 'There's always a plus that can balance out the negative aspects of everything."
Another example of the pluses evening out the negatives of the project Ferguson gave was that while the project may decrease parking options in the area, the construction would open up more parking options in Elm Grove down the line.
"The TCI building that needs to come down can't be scheduled until the bridge is completed," explained Ferguson. "Once that building is taken down, it will become a parking lot which will bring 10 additional parking spots to Elm Grove that we desperately need."
Though the project will open up future parking options, Ferguson does worry that the construction will decrease attendance at Elm Grove Business Association's neighborhood events, such as their Fall Fest.
"I'm worried about our events and how something Fall Fast which has seen a continued growth in attendance may be affected," admitted Ferguson. "The reason that we hold those types of events is to encourage people to come out to the Grove and see everything we have to offer."
Ferguson added she does not want people to avoid Elm Grove during the construction and encourages residents to stop by Groovin' in the Grove on May 18.
"This construction has needed to happen for quite some time, so let's just get it done and move on," said Ferguson. "Sometimes you have to endure a little bit of chaos to move forward into the future."