Charleston residents looking to visit the boutiques and bistros at the Bridge Road Shops shouldn't be fazed by road work.
The two-day construction, which aims to fix a water issue nearby, began Monday morning and should be finished by 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to a new release from the Charleston Public Works Department.
The project is to fix a crack in a drainage pipe, city Public Works Director Gary Taylor said, which extends the width of the road from Rite Aid to an office and apartment building owned by former Charleston mayor Jay Goldman.
Goldman brought attention to the problem after noticing persistent water in the crawl space of the office building for around seven months. He thought that it may have something to do with the pipe, which is located right by a storm drain with constant running water.
"The thing we notice is, if we don't have any rain for 10 days, it's still running," he said.
Multiple courses have been taken to correct the issue. Most recently, Goldman had the parking lot repaved, which should have taken care of any seepage problems.
After the sanitary department ran a camera through the line, it was discovered that a small hole in a water pipe located near the property may be the origin of the problem. The construction project aims to replace the pipe and fix Goldman's longstanding water complications.
Goldman's overarching concern is that water in and around the building will begin to erode the building's foundation.
The strangest part of the ordeal, Goldman said, is that chlorine was initially detected in the water by the sanitary department and later by a third party testing lab, Standard Laboratories. This could mean the problem isn't a drainage issue at all, but instead a water or sewer leak, he said.
Laura Jordan, spokeswoman for West Virginia American Water, said they had completed their own exploratory digs and collected their own samples. The results, she said, indicated that there was no water leak. The chlorine-fortified water could be coming from a sewer line, Jordan said.
West Virginia American Water plans to investigate the matter further if the replaced drainage pipe does not prove effective.
With Bridge Road closed at its most populated area, some businesses were initially worried about a decrease in customers, but were relieved to find cars had full access to the parking area.
Elisa Payne, owner of Eggplant, a gift boutique, said that the business got in front of the inconvenience by letting their customers know on Facebook that the store is open and parking is available.
Payne said the business would make "lemons out of lemonade" and use the slow day to catch up on busywork. Business in the area is never booming on Mondays, Payne said, and repairs are likely needed in an old city.
Emilie Yarid Couch, owner of Yarid's shoe store, agreed. Three customers had already visited the store at that point, around 11:30 a.m., and she said that's pretty normal traffic for a Monday morning.
Overall, Couch doesn't expect business to suffer too badly because of the construction.
"It's going to affect it some, that's just reality, but I don't think it's going to be catastrophic," she said. "I think we'll be fine."
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.