MILFORD, DE -- A construction project is underway in the heart of downtown Milford to make the bridge on Walnut St. widely accessible and to deter speeders, but surrounding business owners say they are feeling the impact.
Marc Clery, owner of Shock Vinyl, expressed his frustration, saying he was unaware of the project until just shortly before it began on March 18th. Since then, he has noticed a significant decrease in sales, with some days only seeing one or two transactions.
"People are feeling like they don't want to deal with the hassle of trying to come downtown and park," Clery said.
Despite closure signs blocking roadways, there is still access to parking spots near businesses. However, Sherry Shupe at the Farmacy Market believes that the timing of the project has exacerbated the situation, especially with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) working on a sidewalk renovation project simultaneously on Front Street.
"This is the time in the season where we have waited through winter, we got through it as a Downtown and now we're waiting for people to come back out and unfortunately it's been delayed another month," Shupe said.
Milford City Manager Mark Whitfield explained that there was a narrow timeframe to start the project in the spring and lay concrete while temperatures are moderate.
Additionally, with the popular Bug and Bud Festival approaching at the end of the month, organizers had to change the festival's layout to accommodate the construction.
"The road is closed much wider than we thought it was going to be when we planned the festival," says festival organizer Terry Rogers. "We regrouped, we managed to work around it. It just would have been uncomfortable for people to walk around with no sidewalks and stuff like that."
Despite the challenges, Whitfield mentioned that the project is currently ahead of schedule and, weather permitting, will be completed by the middle of next week, before the Bug and Bud Festival on April 27th.
