ATHENS, Ohio — In late August, the sign outside Taco John’s on Richland Avenue was changed to read, “Athens roads dug up since 1804.” A photo of it was posted on Facebook and ultimately racked up nearly 400 likes. It was reshared almost 100 times.
The sentiment reflects frustration with ongoing road construction around the city, most recently the closure of Richland Avenue at Dairy Lane.
The road is closed for installation of a lift system, part of the Athens Sewer Improvement Project. The project is intended to eliminate the need for septic tanks in approximately 9,000 Athens County homes.
The project was initially projected to be completed by Aug. 6, Jarod Balderson, city engineer and director of public works, told the Independent. After complications from flooding in August, the project is now expected to be completed by Thursday, Sept. 10.
The ongoing closure overlapped with Ohio University move-in, and the closedintersection required traffic to detour via U.S. 32 and 33 eastbound.
“It wasn’t the greatest timing,” Balderson said.
The Summit at Coates Run, 363 Richland Avenue, is adjacent to the intersection closure with 34-acres of student housing complexes.
“Move-in was a really big issue because we had a lot of people emailing,” Brooklyn Wilson, an employee at The Summit, told the Independent. “They didn’t know exactly how to get up here as well. … We’ve had semis having to drive all the way through The Ridges to even locate The Summit.”
The Summit also has received an influx of traffic, as drivers use the entryway to get around the closed intersection.
“There’s been a lot of people driving up here just to get back around (and) people that don’t live here. That’s been really frustrating as someone that just walks around the facility,” said Wilson.
If the project looks like it will not be finished by Sept. 10, “then we will more than likely shut down and bring it back during winter break,” Balderson said.
While construction remains ongoing, local businesses on Richland Avenue are working to keep afloat with the blocked traffic.
Taco John’s owner Adam Lewis voiced his frustrations with the closure in a letter to the editor to the Independent. Business owners weren’t given sufficient notice of the closure, he wrote.
Customers at his restaurant have declined by 40% since the closure, Lewis said in the letter. He’s had to cut back employee shifts, leading three employees to quit for lack of available hours, he said.
“We knew (the closure) was gonna hurt us,” Lewis told the Independent in an interview. “We just didn’t know exactly how much it was gonna hurt us.”
In response to the closure, and to maintain and promote sales, Lewis and his team have partnered with local radio stations for promotion, and limited ordering supplies to conserve profit, he said.
Other Richland Avenue businesses have had similar issues.
Purple Chopstix, a restaurant at 371 Richland Ave., reopened Aug. 19 after the building flooded twice over the summer. Now, the owners experience difficulties bringing in clientele with the closure of Richland Avenue at Dairy Lane.
“Richland’s always having something going on down here, whether it be flooding or closing the roads,” Fisher said.
Purple Chopstix’s history of flooding dates back to 2014, when bike lane construction on Richland Avenue blocked off drainage, Gabriel Fisher, the owner of Purple Chopstix, said. After the installation of the Richland Avenue bridge Fisher reports more frequent flooding during rainstorms.
Despite challenges related to the timing of the closure, Balderson told the Independent the city did not want to postpone the construction any further.
“We’ve had a few complaints here and there about the closure, and we just try to explain it wasn’t intentional,” Balderson said. “We didn’t mean for it to happen during OU move-in … We thought it would be more beneficial to get [construction] complete and out of the way, instead of delaying it and possibly costing the city more money.”
Fisher said more city communication with business owners about road closures could help.
“If they could communicate and let us know in advance when there are road closures, that would be helpful so we could plan accordingly,” Fisher said.
Lewis also expressed a desire for more coordination.
“How about some sort of planning and partnership [from city government] on when [the closure] was going to take place, and how it was going to take place,” Lewis said.
In 2024, construction impeding business access on West Union Street prompted similar concerns from business owners and the public. One of those businesses, Avalanche Slicehouse at 540 W. Union St., closed in late 2025.
“People are losing their jobs because of this, and the city doesn’t care,” Lewis said. “I can’t count how many times … there were businesses that had to close because of it [construction]. They did it on Union [Street], and The Slice House had to close.”
White’s Mill, located 2 Whites Mill Drive directly off SR 682, has also been impacted by construction presently and in previous years, and encouraged the public via social media to continue to support local businesses amid traffic changes.
“We like a lot of businesses in Athens have been suffering through some road closures and delays but if we all make an effort to get to Richland Ave, Union St, Columbus Road and other hard hit areas where the businesses are having a hard time getting traffic, then hopefully, we can see it through together,” the post said.
Flooding issues and heavy precipitation, a contributing factor to the delay in construction, continues to impact Athens infrastructure and residents.
“I understand you can’t stop floods, but when it happens so often, there’s definitely things that need to happen as far as the runoff from the highway,” Fisher said.
At an Aug. 24 Athens City Council meeting, Mayor Steve Patterson shared a developing plan for future flood containment on Richland Avenue, including a “short range” plan beginning in September to dredge under all bridges on Richland Avenue.
In the meantime, Taco John’s continues to feel the impact of the closure.
“More people are going to have to be let go, or they’re going to quit on their own because they’re not getting enough hours, and we’re going to have to do what we can to tread water until this whole project finishes,” Lewis said.
That will include continuing to post “snarky messages to get the city’s attention to hopefully get some more traffic into our location,” Lewis said.
A Sept. 2 Facebook post by Hocking Valley Bank showed the Taco John’s sign, reading in part, “Enter via helicopter.”
