Starting June 25, 2018, East Gay Street will be renovated, with construction later moving to Matlack Street.
Get ready for a major change downtown — starting today, Monday,June 25, 2018, East Gay Street will be undergoing a new improvement project spanning until the end of the summer in August. Previously, the start date had been June 12th, but PECO has since advised the West Chester Business Improvement District that the renovations would begin today.
The project will start on East Gay Street on High Street and will work its way eastward towards Matlack Street. During this time, East Gay Street will be closed to vehicular traffic Monday through Friday from 7am until 4pm. Pedestrians will have full access to businesses at all times. The streets will fully open to vehicular traffic after 4pm and on weekends.
Neither the BID nor the Borough can actively negotiate with PECO in situations like this, which are governed by state statute. The project is in place to replace an aging gas line with a new, high-pressure line. The final phase of the project will see these streets repaved.
Affected auto traffic will be diverted to Chestnut Street during these hours of operation, where visitors can park in the Chestnut Street Garage or Lot 10 of Chestnut Church. The parking lot behind Wells Fargo will allow access from Walnut Street during construction.
“Council does not have the authority to approve or disapprove of these kinds of improvement projects. We can only negotiate with the utility to try to reduce the impact on our community,” says Diane LeBold, West Chester Borough Council President and BID Board Member. “PECO will be working in 100-foot increments. Each 100 feet will take 3 to 5 days to complete. So only a relatively small segment of the street will be torn up at any given time.”
