Rochester, N.Y. — For the first time since spring, you can drive through Mt. Hope Avenue in Rochester without hitting a wall of traffic. Utility work and street-widening is finished, according to Mark McAnany, Project Manager for Bergmann Associates.
“We’re ahead of schedule and we’re in good shape heading into the winter months,” said McAnany.
A new water main has been added along with various utility upgrades.
It is a city infrastructure project meant to help the Mt. Hope corridor as well as the forthcoming $100 million University of Rochester College Town project.
“It’s just turning out to be really nice,” said Joe Normand, Shift Manager at Bruegger’s Bagels on Mt. Hope.
13WHAM News first spoke with Normand in June. Road work was so close to his shop's windows that they rattled as customers ate lunch. Few regular customers wanted to visit the store back in June.
“Pretty much our only business was construction workers,” Normand said.
The store’s sales were down approximately 35 percent during the summer months, according to Normand.
Business at the nearby Mt. Hope Diner took a similar dip.
“It varied, but you know it got as low as 35-40 percent at times,” said Michael Mihalitsas, owner of Mt. Hope Diner.
There is still work to be done. New lights will soon dot the corridor and traffic signals will be changed, according to McAnany.
All of the work could be finished by spring.
