Edmond Construction Project Expected To Cause Traffic Delays

The construction project Edmond drivers have been dreading is now underway. The orange construction cones went up Monday at the 33rd and Broadway intersection.

Throughout the project Broadway will be reduced to two lanes in each direction, and 33rd Street will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Construction will probably take about a year and won't just be a traffic headache for drivers, but possibly a financial one for businesses around the area.

At 11:30 a.m. on a Monday, Pita Pit on the northwest corner of 33rd and Broadway is typically half full.

“We’ve had one person in the lobby so far,” said manager Toney Forga.

The business relies heavily on word of mouth and drive by traffic. The upcoming construction will not only limit visibility but access.

“Right out there is one of our main entrances and they’re going to be shutting that down to one lane,” said Forga.

The project, that's expected to take about a year, will add additional left turn lanes to create dual turn lanes southbound and westbound, and new right turn lanes for east, west and southbound.

So that local businesses aren't affected that much the City of Edmond is encouraging drivers to continue to use the intersection for through traffic. And drivers Monday told us they probably will.

Still, after the Pita Pit learned of the upcoming project, they decided to add delivery service so customers aren't inconvenienced.

“That way we can still get out to our customers, be able to still do what we need to do no matter what they got going on out there,” said Forga.

The good news of course is the intersection should be a lot better when this is all over.  But of course in the meantime it could be a mess for traffic.