NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Police Department has asked drivers to stay away from a traffic-heavy construction site where a roundabout is being built at Pleasant and Conz streets not far from exit 18 on Interstate 91.
Construction on the new roundabout has resulted in lengthy traffic backups this week. Signs near the construction already urge drivers to seek alternate routes during the construction — 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays — and Tuesday morning, the Northampton Police Department asked drivers to keep away from the area altogether.
“Please avoid the area and I-91 exit 18,” a post on the department’s Facebook page said.
At about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, vehicles driving south on Pleasant Street were at a near standstill from the construction site to the intersection of the Pleasant-Randolph Place intersection half a mile away. Pedestrians moved faster on the sidewalks than cars on the street.
While the streets were packed, the parking lots at the Pleasant Street Shell station — the closest business to the construction, just feet away — and several surrounding buildings were nearly empty.
In the past couple of days especially, the construction has slowed down business there.
Kyle North, a cashier at the station, said the store made as much money all day yesterday as it usually does in a single shift.
Taylor Hausrath, a restaurant manager at the Dunkin Donuts inside the station, said business has been rough for the donut shop, too. “We’re down to like 25 percent (of normal business),” he said.
North also said the construction has forced him to leave early on his morning commute just to make it to work on time.
“Forget about it,” he said. “Easy extra half hour. Yesterday, I was actually waiting for 45 minutes.”