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Businesses On Penn Ave. In Garfield Growing Impatient With Road Construction

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A construction project on busy Penn Avenue in Garfield has fallen behind schedule and both drivers and business owners are feeling the pain.

Dinner is normally a busy time at Pho Minh Vietnamese Restaurant, but not these days, not since the construction.

They've felt the pinch of fewer customers at Most Wanted Fine Arts, too.

"It's been super frustrating," said owner Jason Sauer. "Not just the lack of people, but as the steam roller goes up the street; it literally has made cracks in my wall I've had to repair."

While Sauer is excited to see the finished product, he's opened a shop at the Waterfront until the construction is completed on Penn.

Things have also slowed at Kraynick's Bike Shop.

"I think if the businesses knew how long it was going to be and how they were going to drag it out, I don't think anybody would have said, 'Yeah, let's do this!'" said owner Jerry Kraynick.

Kraynick even considered cancelling his annual holiday bicycle drive for needy kids because of the construction but has decided to move forward with it after all.

No one argues that this section of Penn Avenue has been in bad shape for a long time. In fact, the reconstruction has been in the making for 20 years. Still, businesses wish the project had kept to its original 18-month timeframe instead of expanding into a 24-month estimate.

"We ask people to be patient with us," said Guy Costa, Chief Operations Officer for Pittsburgh.

Costa says crews encountered unexpected obstacles in the multi-million dollar project.

"We're on old city. A lot of utility lines aren't documented properly. A lot of times you start digging up the street, you find there are utility lines you don't expect to be there," said Costa.

He says the newest plan is to complete the concrete street by the end of the year, with the contractor returning next year to finish the sidewalks, signals and other improvements.

However, there's also a phase two of the project that will include the next section of Penn Avenue.

Costa says he knows it's a burden on businesses and drivers, but he maintains that the pain will be worth it.

"We assure them that when this project is done, Penn Avenue is going to be a gem in the city of Pittsburgh," he added.

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