Although the work on Davis Avenue will soon come to an end, City Hall knows it's the downtown businesses that have dealt with the construction most directly. Some downtown shops and restaurants have been greatly effected by closed sections of the well-travelled route, while others have only noticed minor drops in sales.
As summer comes to a close, the businesses and shoppers along Elkins' main drag will soon enough enjoy a freshly paved Davis Avenue.
Elkins Operations Manager Bob Pingley said the Davis Avenue water mainline replacement project is nearing its end and only one storm sewer line remains to be installed.
He agrees that although the project moved along smoothly, there is no doubt it had an impact on the local businesses.
"There is no question in my mind that there was some negative impact," Pingley said. "We worked well with everyone to let them know what was happening."
Beander's manager Desire Watson said the work on Elkins' main drag is effecting the number of customers she sees at lunch in particular. The main cause, she said, is that customers don't know which section of the street will be closed off on a daily basis, so they don't know if they will be able to get to their favorite lunch spot.
"I'm looking forward to it being done," Watson said. "It's harder to find a parking spot."
Watson said the dinner and evening crowds haven't been as effected because crews usually clear the road in the evening.
Pingley said through efforts with the contractor, Versa Con, all businesses were notified of street closures and water shut-offs which helped keep the interruptions from disrupting business too much.
While there is still some work to do, Pingley said the project will finish ahead of schedule.
"We are working on concreting the street cuts now," Pingley said. "We hope to be paving the last week of August."
Before paving can begin, the city will install a storm water drainage line from in front of The Old Brick Playhouse to the Mountain Valley Bank drive through. Pingley said it will help prevent a large puddle from forming at the bank when it rains.
Once the street is paved and painted with lines, faux brick crosswalks will be installed at the Third Street and Davis Avenue intersection.
Pingley said the city wants to see how the crosswalks hold up in the winter before installing them in more places.
Downtown merchants interviewed collectively agree that retail sales are down this summer and some are blaming the road work.
A visit to many downtown shops on Thursday afternoon saw few customers browsing the various businesses and even fewer sales taking place.
Ed Gatehouse, owner of Freestyle, has seen sales steadily decrease during the four years his store has been open.
While the downtown work may have hindered some customers from coming in, he said a poor economy combined with a dying interest in skateboarding have him considering closing.
"When we first opened up, the first year was great," Gatehouse said. "A bunch of kids were skating, but then a lot of the kids stopped skating."
To increase sales, Gatehouse has expanded his inventory to include clothing, body jewelry, stickers and other items. He can also accept DHHR clothing vouchers and offers an extra $10 worth of merchandise for every $100 spent in the store.
"With the economy, parents can't afford this kind of stuff," Gatehouse said. "I guess people can't just afford to buy their kids a new board, so I changed it up bit and now I get stuff in here like Hot Topic."
While Gatehouse has tried innovative ways to increase sales, he believes the construction project has kept some people from accessing his store.
"We've been thinking about closing for about a year and a half," Gatehouse said. "With the road work, it has really killed us. Nobody can park anywhere. Between the economy and the road, especially the way the economy is going, I know a few of the merchants down here have left and a couple of more are talking about it. It's kinda rough."
Tammy Anderson, owner of Good News Christian Books and Gifts, said her store's sales have also been down this summer. On a typical day, she sees between six and 20 patrons visit her shop.
"It's been very slow," Anderson said. "Our regular customers have come to town and found that they're delayed or have to park and walk long distances. Thank goodness they have continued to come in. We've done a lot of things to bring customers in. We put the flags out every day, put up the open sign and put things in the window that might attract attention. When tourists are in town, they do walk the streets. They do walk around looking for shops that are open."
Although it has been an inconvenience, Anderson thinks the work will ultimately be good for the city's infrastructure and could help attract new businesses. She said the upgrades to the city's sewage and water lines were much needed and shows merchants that the city is concerned with its downtown area.
"I'm thankful that even while they have been working, they have put cones up and tried to let traffic flow wherever it can," Anderson said. "It's inconvenient right now, but it will be good for the future."
While the other businesses are struggling to stay open, Main Line Books has seen consistent sales. Owner Vicky Roidt cited the lack of competition from chain bookstores as one of her main assets. However, she did say sales are down this summer compared to past years.
"I've been very pleased with business since I opened six years ago," Roidt said. "There aren't too many big-box book stores around here, so I do a lot of special orders. All in all, business has been great."
Located at the corner of Davis Avenue and Third Street, much of the work took place directly in front of the book store during an eight-week period. While it may have stopped a few customers from visiting, Roidt said the economy in general is what's stifling her sales.
"People are hurting in this area," Roidt said. "Books are probably the last thing they are looking to buy. They need to pay their bills and buy their food first, and luxuries come last. But I have to say the road work has hurt, too. A lot of my regular customers have called and said they don't have a place to park. The tourists were having a difficult time getting back and forth across the street, so I think they were just shopping on one side or the other. Summer is my busiest time for tourism and it is definitely down."
Just like many of the downtown shops, Kipling Shoe Co. also reported a decline in sales and manager Paul Phillips said the construction is to blame. With entrances on both Randolph Avenue and through the Seneca Mall, Phillips said customers should take advantage of the mall entrance and park in the lot.
"Right now business is awful because of the road construction," Phillips said. "Many people don't realize they can come through the back entrance. Out front it's been a mess. I think business will build up now. We've got a lot of good sales going on and I think it will attract a lot of shoppers."
When she's not going to work downtown, Tiffany Carr of Elkins tries to avoid the gridlock. Carr explained that traveling Davis Avenue simply adds an inconvenience and too much driving time to her trips. She and other vehicles must travel at a much slower speed over the uneven, grated road and therefore she chooses alternative routes to avoid Davis Avenue.
However, others, Carr says, have been making their way back into town more recently. She said more people are patronizing Beander's, where she works, for lunch and dinner since the construction began.
Trudy Kingston of Beverly said her husband always knows she's been driving in the Davis Avenue work zone because her motor is covered by more dirt than usual. It's difficult for Kingston to avoid Davis Avenue because she too works downtown, but hasn't made any efforts to side-step the street.
Kingston thinks others are still staying away from downtown because before the construction began she was used to seeing more foot traffic and cars.
Because traffic traveling on Davis Avenue has decreased or is moving very slowly, Kingston said it's nice to be able to cross the street when she chooses.
