venturacountystar.com

$6 million storm drain project taking toll on businesses

Fillmore work is on schedule, official reports

By Dawn Witlin
Correspondent
Monday, May 26, 2008

Street closures in Fillmore's downtown continue to hinder local commerce, according to some merchants, as work to install $6 million in storm drains carries on.

"It's a real headache," said Frank Ramirez, owner of Central Station Bar & Grill at 345 Central Ave. "I guess they're moving along OK, but it's just a real inconvenience the way they block traffic. It really impacts my business."

The intersection of Sespe Avenue and Central Avenue has been closed to traffic since May 1 to allow for excavation and installation of a 60-inch storm drain pipe and 20-inch water line.

Since Thursday, Central between Santa Clara and Main streets has been closed to allow for storm drain installation on Main Street and median repair.

Workers laid off

Because of a lack of customers, Ramirez has laid off five employees since construction began, he said.

"I've been waiting to see if business picks up to call them in," he said Thursday. "I want to see what happens after today."

Fillmore's Deputy City Manager Bill Bartels praised the progress of Lash Construction of Santa Barbara, general contractor for the project.

"Currently, they're on time, under budget and in a couple of areas ahead of schedule," Bartels said. "This contractor is so good, he's far enough ahead that if an issue comes to the table, we can kick it around and his crew keeps moving forward."

The project is expected to be completed in January.

Roger Campbell, owner of Toys & More and the Skateboard Shop — both on Santa Clara Avenue — said construction hasn't taken a toll on his stores.

Construction "is not going affect business terribly because I cater to the people in town, so they know where we're at," he said.

Campbell said he has followed the project closely and is happy with the results so far.

"I'm very impressed with how fast they're working and how clean it is," he said. "No one is standing around out there; someone is always sweeping up dirt."

The storm drain and water line will run from south of River Street to north of >Sespe Avenue . Work will also be done beneath the intersection of Highway 126 and Central Avenue .

Central to be closed

On Tuesday, Central Avenue between Highway 126 and Main Street will be closed to traffic while Lash Construction installs the storm drain, water line and a 12-inch recycled water line through the intersection at Santa Clara and Main Street .

Once work is completed past the intersection of Central and Santa Clara in mid-June, Santa Clara will be open for traffic again, said Rick Henderson of Lash Construction.

"We haven't run into any problems that have caused a halt in construction," he said.

The storm drains should eliminate flooding of sidewalks and streets in downtown and North Fillmore, which occurs after heavy rains, Bartels said.