Call it progress.

Call it a necessity.

However you refer to it, the reconstruction of South Buffalo Street, between Market and Center in Warsaw, is just over a month into a estimated two-month project, and the businesses in that block are weathering the disturbance with little or no drop-off in business.

And what's even more encouraging for them is that the work is ahead of schedule, with the possibility of being completed by the first of July, according to Public Works Superintendent Lacey Francis.

"We're about a week and a half ahead of schedule right now. Barring any bad weather, and if we can get the contractors scheduled in, we may be able to get the new pavement in before the July 16 completion date," he said.

Francis said all of the sanitary and storm sewers are in, United Water has put in new water lines and NIPSCO has put in the underground electric lines. The only remaining underground work to be completed is installing the conduits for the decorative lighting.

The month-long disruption to date hasn't hurt businesses in that block to a large degree, according to the proprietors.

Patricia Teeple of Creative Floral Designs said most of her business is call-in, so she hasn't noticed an appreciable drop-off.

"We're doing pretty well. It's hurt our walk-in business some, but the call-in business has remained pretty steady," she said. "Fortunately, we have a back entrance, so people have adapted to the construction.

"I know this work has to be done, and it's really going to be nice when it's finished," Teeple added.

Mike Burgess of Hall's True Value Hardware said he, too, has a secondary entrance that normally gets more use, so the construction really hasn't affected his business.

"Other than the dust, it hasn't hurt us at all. Only 30 percent of our customers came through the Buffalo Street entrance, anyway, so they've simply adjusted," he said. "We expected it to be worse, but the construction hasn't hurt our business at all."

According to Tom Ice Jr. of In The Garden Bookstore & Gift Shop, while the store did have to close for a few days when the sidewalk and pavement were being taken out, there has been a steady flow of customers, despite the work.

"It's been slow but steady. People have begun to realize we have a rear service entrance in the back and have been using that," he said. "Even though we did have to close for a few days, we're doing OK." [[In-content Ad]]