A slope wall repair project in Williams Township will send all non-local traffic between Route 212 in Durham Township and Raubsville Road in Williams on a detour that bypasses Route 611 for 4.5 miles, including all of Riegelsville.
View full sizeAl Stempo, owner of Stemie's Place on Route 611 in Williams Township, is worried that people will hear about the Route 611 detour south of his restaurant and avoid the entire area.So a six-week construction project that will detour all nonlocal traffic around the town has him worried. A slope wall repair project in Williams Township will send all nonlocal traffic between Route 212 in Durham Township and Raubsville Road in Williams on a detour that bypasses Route 611 for 4.5 miles, including all of Riegelsville.
“I’m scared to death. It’s just going to shut down the town,” Madnick said. “This is the beginning of my best season. It’s the stupidest time to do it.”Several other Riegelsville business owners aren’t pleased with the detour, either. Michelle’s Pizzeria and Restaurant also is right on Route 611 and has significant drop-in business, employee Gordon Carver said.
“Seeing as we’re a business that’s right on 611, we get a few people that drive by and walk in,” he said. “That’ll probably affect 10 to 20 percent of our income.”Williams officials heard complaints from several township businesses about the long road closure and met with state transportation officials last week about it. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has pledged to shorten the six-week period if possible, officials said.
Mueller’s Country Store and Restaurant owner Mary Adams said the detour will hurt her business so much that she planned to lay off 11 of her 25 employees today, the first day of the project. She requested the work be delayed until after the busy spring and summer tourist season, but the state plans to start work today.
Even Williams Township businesses that aren’t within the closed section of Route 611 are worried about the major detour. Stemie’s Place, a restaurant and bar, is a good mile north of Raubsville Road, but owner Al Stempo is worried that people will hear about the detour and avoid the entire area.
“Nobody knows where Raubsville Road is. They’ll just hear 611 is shut down,” he said. “It’ll be like a ghost town down here.”Stempo hopes to get the word out that his restaurant and other businesses along Route 611 south of Easton — Blue Moon Automotive, Dorsey’s Automotive and Transmission Repair, Paolini’s Cast Stone and Terry’s Italian Restaurant — will be accessible during the six-week detour period, he said.
Allen Madnick also plans to get the word out that his antiques store is still open by posting store signs next to the detour signs. He said PennDOT gave him permission to do so.
Figtree Market & Catering owner Andi Kukura said she isn’t too worried about the detour. Being in downtown Riegelsville, she said, her eatery suffered more when the Riegelsville Bridge was repaired in 2011.
“We’re not thrilled about it but it’s got to be done,” she said. “I think it might be a little tough but we have a lot of good people in the community; I think our customers will keep supporting us."