On a recent summer afternoon, the parking lot at Atkins Farms was less than half full while an excavator whined in the background.
A sign points to the entrance of Atkins Farms in Amherst. Business at the market has been hit hard during the latest phase of construction.AMHERST – On a recent summer afternoon, the parking lot at Atkins Farms was less than half full while an excavator whined in the background.
Cement barriers blocked some entrances to the market’s parking lot and a protective fence wound its way around part of the store.
All of these factors are hurting the 50-year-old market and Hampshire County landmark.
Since the latest round of construction began on the Atkins corner project, business is down 30 percent, on top of a five percent drop from last summer, according to Pauline A. Lannon, president of Atkins Farms.
Work on the state and federally-funded project began in March of 2011 with a slated completion date of June 2013.
The redesign is intended to improve safety and traffic flow with roundabouts at Route 116 and West Bay Road and at Route 116 and Bay Road. When finished, the road will be slightly wider and include a multi-use bicycle lane, according to officials.
Since Memorial Day, the westerly end of Bay Road and about 400 feet of the adjoining sections of Route 116 in both directors have been closed, impeding access to the market.
But the market is still accessible from Bay Road in Hadley and from Route 116 heading north from Holyoke, but Lannon said she doesn’t think customers are aware of that.
“There’s not a lot we can do,” Lannon said.
She believes that some customers may be have been scared off by the detours, although they add only a short amount of travel time.
Atkins Farms has offered coupons for free donuts and ice cream in an attempt to keep customers walking through the door but Lannon said the promotions haven't been enough to equalize business.
Additionally, she is concerned that once the roads are re-opened, customers won't be returning as they will already be accustomed to patronizing another store.
Lannon said that she has talked to officials to see if there are any programs available to assist the business with the decline in revenue due to the construction, but was told that there is nothing that government can do to help in relation to the project.
The project is being paid for in part by $2.4 million in federal stimulus money.
She said the current phase of work was expected to take about six weeks and they are about four weeks in. Lannon is hoping crews will finish on time.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Guilford B. Mooring, said he’s expecting crews will finish this phase in about two to three weeks, although he mentioned delays in relation to the removal of telephone poles.
“The majority of the work will be done when school comes back,” Mooring said. The detours will be removed sooner than that.
The Ludlow-based Baltazar Contractors were awarded the contract for the $6 million project.
“The contractor has been doing a good job,” Mooring said. “There are normal little issues (that come up especially) for a project that started in the 80s.”
“Everybody supported it, they still support it. It’s going to improve traffic flow.” But he said, “It’s always hard through the construction.”
Residents and town and Hampshire College officials had been working on creating a village center here since 1998, which included the road improvements. The project required hundreds and hundreds of hours of meetings, design, and town meeting votes as well as land takings from Hampshire College and Atkins among others. But talks to improve the area began decades ago.