Despite ongoing construction, South Main Street in downtown Smyrna remains mostly unchanged during the day. The road is bumpy, but it’s open to traffic, and the downtown merchants and businesses are open for customers.
But around the time the sun begins to set, the construction crews resume their work. The street is closed off from the Four Corners to the intersection with South Street as backhoes and trucks and construction workers with shovels occupy the roadway. Each night, the workers dig up portions of the road and continue replacing the old water and sewer lines underneath.
By the morning, the road is patched back up and is once again open to motorists, and the downtown stores are open for the next day of business.
Progress report on the downtown project
Smyrna Town Manager Dave Hugg said South Main Street is typically only closed between about 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the current utility work.
This portion of the project started a little later than planned, and a couple days were lost due to weather, but the project is nearly on schedule, Hugg said.
“They’re making really good progress,” he said. “It’s all falling together pretty well.”
April 24 is the target date for the ongoing utility work to be complete. Around that time, the streetscape portion of the work is set to begin. Hugg described the streetscape portion as “everything above the dirt,” including the installation of a new roadbed and surface, curbs and sidewalks, trees and street furniture. The whole project area will have granite curbs and brick sidewalks, he said.
The crosswalks at the intersections will be paved with brick and will appear similar to the new crosswalks at Smyrna Elementary School on South Street, Hugg said.
During the planning stages for the project, there was some talk of using special paving or designs for the intersections at the Four Corners and South and Main, but that idea was nixed, “basically as a cost saving measure and due to maintenance concerns,” Hugg said.
The contractor for the streetscape portion of the project should begin around mid-April, depending on the progress of the utility work, Hugg said. The streetscape portion is scheduled for completion in June or July, and that will wrap up the work on South Main Street, he said.
Hugg said that some pieces of the streetscape work may require intermittent day and early evening hours, but for the most part, the project will be done at night.
Estimated cost of downtown project
Hugg estimated the cost of the downtown project on South Main Street at slightly over $2 million, with $1.1 million for the utility work and $1 million for the streetscape portion. The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) has committed around $800,000 for the streetscape project, Hugg said.
Smyrna Council awarded the construction bid for the utility portion of the downtown project to David Bramble Inc. for $822,456.
Council awarded the bid for the streetscape portion to Sam’s Construction Co. LLC for $871,825.
Those bids cover the construction costs, but other factors like engineering costs and contingencies will also factor into the total cost of the project.
Three more phases of downtown utility and streetscape improvements have also been planned, but no funding has been identified for that work yet.
The additional phases of the downtown project would extend once block in each direction from the Four Corners. Once the current project on South Main Street is complete, that will leave North Main Street and East and West Commerce.
“I would hope over the next few years we’ll be able to do it,” Hugg said.
Wiring problem at Four Corners traffic light
Last week, the intersection of Main and Commerce streets was temporarily converted into a four-way stop with a flashing red light due to problems with the wiring for the traffic signal. The cause of the problem is uncertain, but it could have been caused by the construction or the weather, Hugg said.
Hugg said the intersection remained a four-way stop for about two days, but the traffic lights have since been returned to normal operation. New wiring, new light poles and new equipment for the traffic signal at that intersection are all included in the upcoming streetscape project, he said.
Downtown businesses remain open
Downtown business owners are doing what they can to get through the construction while looking forward to a more attractive downtown area once it’s complete.
“They’ve been very good about working during the course of the night,” said Mary Koehler, who along with her husband Larry, owns Koehler’s Timeless Treasures at the corner of Main and Commerce. “They’ve been very considerate to work with the businesses.”
“We just have to grin and bear it,” she continued. “When everything’s done, it’s going to be lovely.”
Koehler said she’s optimistic about how the completed project will impact the downtown businesses.
“I do feel it will entice people to come downtown more,” she said. “All in all, it’s going to be beautiful.”
But Brenda Proud, the owner of A Lil’ Off the Top Barber Shop at 7 West Commerce Street, is worried that some of the downtown businesses won’t make it through. She said the downtown foot traffic has slowed to a trickle.
“There’s a lot [of businesses] that aren’t going to survive,” she said. “If they can’t get people down here, they aren’t going to make it.”
Proud hopes people realize that the small businesses downtown are still open during the day.
“People just don’t think it’s open,” she said.
Proud said that she used to close her business at 6 p.m., but lately she’s been closing at 4:30 or 5 p.m. because people aren’t coming downtown, especially when the construction will start soon.
“No one wants to ride through town,” she said.
Proud also worries that people will find the road too bumpy and won’t want to drive their cars on it.
Jackie Vinyard, owner of The Gathering Place at 34 South Main Street, said she’s noticed a slowdown in foot traffic, “but we don’t know if that’s the construction or the economy.”
Although South Main is bumpy and dirty right now, she expects the street to be beautiful once it’s finished.
“You have to get through the dirty stage to get to the beautiful stage, and that’s what we’re waiting for,” she said.
Vinyard said she’s living in the back of her business to cut costs and hunker down during the construction. It also gives her more flexibility to meet customers by appointment.
“I’m trying to be as frugal as I can to make it through,” she said.
Vinyard believes that once the improvements are complete, people will be curious and will come downtown to see the results.
“When it gets done, I expect a lot more people to come check it out,” she said.
She also said that now would be a good time for those who want to start a business to improve a vacant building and get a new business ready in time for a post-construction boom.
Vinyard also wished to thank the customers who continue to support the downtown businesses.
“Without them we wouldn’t be here,” she said.
