The snarl of Cobleskill traffic when two main roads close for bridge replacements is only months away.
And although Cobleskill will be better off for the work being done, business leaders fear the local economy will suffer when Route 7 and the Warnerville Cutoff close this spring and summer.
To ease that economic pain, Cobleskill Partnership Inc. and the Schoharie County Chamber of Commerce have been developing plans to aid businesses hurt by detoured traffic. The next meeting to consider plans will be at noon this Thursday at the Best Western and is open to the public.
The Cutoff will close first, probably in March or April, as the county replaces both bridges there.
The firm of Bette & Cring won the contract with a bid of about $3.7 million, according to county Public Works Commissioner Tom Fagnani.
Crews removed trees and brush from below the bridge by the Warnerville Post Office just before Christmas, and actual bridge work will proceed “as soon as the weather breaks,” Mr. Fagnani said.
Replacing the Route 7 bridge by Stewart’s, a state project, will close Route 7 in July, August and September, according to David Hamburg of the state Department of Transportation.
The overlapping bridge closures mean traffic will be re-routed on I-88, MacArthur Avenue and other roads.
“There’s going to be difficult traffic patterns for a little while, especially when Route 7 closes,” Mr. Fagnani said.
That’s what concerns such businesses as Kelley Farm and Garden, Carpets and Then Some, The Gables Bed and Breakfast, Stewart’s and others.
The group of business leaders has been working with DOT on signs to alert customers that stores near the construction are still open.
“I know that we’ll try to do what we can to mitigate any circumstances,” Mr. Hamburg said.
Besides the signs, the local leaders plan promotional campaigns for the businesses and efforts to make sure customers know the businesses remain open.
“We have to plan how we’ll get the word out locally and beyond,” said Chamber President Anne Myers.
“The big problem is that this occurs during the tourist season.”
At the same time Route 7 closes, the Village of Cobleskill will be putting in new water and sewer lines, sidewalks and repaving nearby Rose Street.
Also at the same time, the strip of Route 7 through SUNY Cobleskill will get an overhaul, though traffic will still be allowed through.
All the projects are slated to be finished this construction season.