The Alburtis Borough Council held its regular meeting Sept. 30 where members discussed how Spring Creek Road’s closure continues to have an adverse effect on local businesses.

Council President Steven Hill voiced his concerns.

“PennDOT didn’t even notify businesses, we notified them,” Hill said. “Very rarely do you hear of a state road of that magnitude being shut down without an alternate route.”

In a separate interview, Urvish Shah, owner of Norm’s Restaurant in Alburtis, lamented, “We’re really hurting bad here.” Shah estimates his restaurant revenue is down roughly 25 percent due to the road closure.

Keith Oldt, proprietor of KC Stoves and Fireplaces, projects revenues diminished roughly 20 percent.

“I’m a fireplace store,” Oldt explained, “You couldn’t do this in the middle of summer?”

The renovation of Spring Creek includes lane widening and the installation of traffic lights at the intersection of both Mertztown and Cogdon Hill roads, in preparation for increased truck traffic. The project is projected to be completed Nov. 7 with the option to extend the deadline.

Residents were also in attendance regarding the recent mandatory relocation of select mailboxes on Main Street.

The United States Postal Service recently identified a safety hazard along South Main Street, necessitating the relocation of two mailboxes. When contacted for further comment, the post office identified the road along with street-side parking made delivery hazardous for their carriers.

“We encourage our employees to identify safety hazards,” Karen Mazurkeiwicz, USPS communications program specialist for central Pennsylvania and the western New York districts said. The mailboxes were erected in roughly the last six months when the carrier identified the boxes as a safety concern, which was investigated and confirmed by Postmaster Howard Miller. The mailboxes were placed in the hazardous area at the direction of the post office.

Local residents also voiced concerns over unsightliness over select mailboxes affixed with a bucket, colloquially referred to as the “Bucket Brigade.”

Alburtis Borough Council pledges to outline an ordinance for guidelines regarding mailboxes and how they are to be attached to the ground by the end of November.