The $11.7 million Downtown Pullman Project is planned to be finished with construction at the beginning of November instead of the middle of October.
The city does not have a specific end date yet, Mayor Francis Benjamin said. However, there will be one lane opened on Main Street sometime in the middle of October.
With the lane being open, one side will remain closed while they finish the other side of the road, he said. Once that side is completed they will flip it and open the other side.
“[The contractors] plan to be finished with everything the first part of November,” Benjamin said.
According to a press release made by city administrator Mike Urban, both the project timeline and potential closure of Main Street were originally set to run from April 1 to Oct. 15, due to the modification of the project to get bids for it. This has now been extended longer.
The city plans to give the contractors, Apollo Inc., a bonus of $10,000 a day for up to 10 days if they complete the construction before the original set date of Main Street being done.
“So, when you ask the question of the contractors, are they on track? The contractors look at, ‘am I getting the whole bonus,’ and so right now, I feel that we’re still in the bonus range, but I don’t know if the contractor will get the full bonus,” Benjamin said.
It is expected, however, that Apollo Inc. will be done with the construction a week before the set finish date, Benjamin said.
Benjamin said he believes the contractors are doing great.
“They’re definitely going to finish within the time that we’ve set for them,” he said.
Benjamin said he wants to see the students visit Downtown Pullman. With the construction, the number of people visiting the shops downtown has diminished, but they are ready to welcome people back in their shops, Benjamin said.
“We’ve been very lucky with how we have always been supported by the community throughout the whole project,” Chris Chandler, Neil’s Coffee and Ice Cream owner, said.
Neil’s has noticed quite a difference within the first month and a half of school.
“It could be attendances down at some of the football games,” Chandler said. “But for the most part, we’ve had people still coming in, but it is down a little bit. I don’t know exact percentages over previous years, but there’s a lot of factors involved, besides the Downtown Project.”
The downtown businesses have worked hard to stay open during the construction, Benjamin said.
“They’re looking for, really, the project to get done, because that’s when it’ll make the downtown even more exciting and vibrant for everybody,” he said.
