Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Construction continues along East Gay Street
Traffic on East Gay Street beginning at North Matlack Street being diverted during gas line installation
East Gay Street construction, which began Monday to replace PECO gas lines and repave roadway between Matlack and High streets is “not as terrible as some people thought it would be,” said Business Improvement District Executive Director Malcolm Johnstone, Friday.
Construction takes place between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. weekdays only. Johnstone said the contractor has finished daily work in a “timely” fashion and has cleaned up so “you can’t even tell they have been there after 4 p.m.”
The street is fully open to traffic evenings and all weekend.
While cars will be detoured during active construction, pedestrians have full access to sidewalks and businesses. Johnstone suggested that patrons call merchants prior to visiting to hear about parking options.
Originally, construction was to begin on East Gay at High, but on Monday, Johnstone, was informed that construction would begin at Matlack Street and work toward High.
Johnstone said that contractors discovered underground pipes, which in a time-saving
measure suggested gas line replacement from east to west rather than west to east.
Also, for the first week of the project, contrary to plans, and this will change, only a single block from Matlack to Walnut was closed to vehicular traffic from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Johnstone visits the work site two or three times per day and BID staff will be meeting with East Gay businesses throughout construction to help ensure that everything possible is being done to mitigate disruption.
Depending on weather, Johnstone said that the project is scheduled to end on time sometime in August.
Stay up to date with the East Gay Improvement Project page at www.downtownwestchester.com/view_program. php?id=570.