AVON — Some business owners are worried that the long-awaited widening of Detroit Road will shoo away customers when it finally begins in September.

The $2.8 million project, which has been in limbo for seven years while officials secured a $1.5 million state grant, is expected to take about a year to complete, Avon Planning Coordinator Jim Piazza said.

It will affect about 4,000 feet of pavement through the heart of Avon’s business district, between state Routes 611 and 83. Piazza said a middle turn lane, a new waterline and storm sewers will be added to the stretch.

One lane will be kept open during construction, but there could be frequent 20-minute waits to get through, Piazza said — and many of the 50 or so store owners that attended a town hall meeting Thursday night voiced concerns that customers will avoid shops in the construction area.

“You have to understand we’re all scared. We operate small businesses in bad economic times,” said Ron Larson, owner of Avon Village. “This could hit us really hard.”

Al Stafford, who owns Mighty Moose BBQ Grill, said construction will wear through winter months when business is typically booming.

“The timing of this is probably the absolute worst you could have put together. We’re in an economic slump, and businesses are scratching for every dime as it is,” he said. “This is going to devastate a lot of businesses, and I don’t think the city understands the full impact.”

Catherine Pastron, owner of Catherine’s Chocolates, remembers how a similar road project bit into sales at her former Church Street store in downtown Amherst.

“I really felt it then, and I don’t want to feel that same crunch at my new store,” she said. “This is going to be a very hard time for all of our shops.”

Piazza said winter weather will likely slow construction in the weeks leading up to the holidays, leaving Detroit Road businesses easily accessible.

“It’s not going to be the Euclid Corridor project (in downtown Cleveland) where we shut everything down. That’s our retail district. We don’t want to make it any tougher on our merchants,” he said. “We’re well aware of the economy, trust me.”

He said signs will be posted at either end of the construction zone making it clear that Detroit Road is open for travel. Road crews will have to periodically cut off traffic to dump limestone and other materials, but waits should be minimized, he said.

The project’s timing was not up to Avon officials, Piazza said. State grants are awarded in July, which means September is the earliest the widening can start.

Waiting until next spring to begin would mean much worse travel delays next November and December, he said.

Under the current plan, utility shutoffs will be done during off-peak hours so they don’t interfere with business, school and physicians’ hours, Avon utilities Superintendent David Conrad said.

And because of snow and ice, there will be virtually no work during January and February, said project manager Aaron Appell of Bramhall Engineering.

He said that when everything wraps up, problems with standing water will be resolved, traffic signals will be upgraded, Detroit Road will be 16 feet wider and new sidewalks will be installed.

Fabrizi Trucking & Paving of Valley City has been hired to do the construction.

Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.

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