NOBLESVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana transportation officials on Wednesday said the discovery of underground fuel tanks along State Road 32-38 on the downtown Courthouse Square put a road reconstruction project about a week behind schedule.

Work was paused earlier this month while inspectors checked tanks that were once used to heat buildings in downtown Noblesville. Officials said work resumed on Wednesday after inspectors concluded the tanks were safe. One will be removed while the rest will be filled.

The delay means another week of significantly depressed foot traffic at Kari Clouse’s boutique shop. She said the Indiana Department of Transportation and city construction projects have taken up space outside her store for the past three months. She said she estimates her foot traffic is about 10% of what it normally is.

“I would say, even during COVID, it wasn’t this bad,” she said. “I would have to say maybe even 2007 or 2008 when the economy was so bad. I miss my customers. I miss faces.”

Kyleigh Cramer, a spokesperson for the INDOT East Central District, said it’s not unusual for projects to get put on hold because workers discover unexpected fuel tanks, power lines or utility lines.

“Sometimes, when you get down there, it’s not exactly what you had planned it out to be,” she said. “We did know about the gas tanks but we didn’t know exactly where they were, and some of them weren’t exactly where they were supposed to be.”

Cramer said State Road 32-38 — locally called Conner Street — should reopen downtown around the first week of August, assuming no further delays. She said the road closure along State Road 32-38 should be the last one associated with the project.

There is one more phase involving State Road 32-38 between Lakeview Drive and 19th Street, but Cramer said that project primarily involves signal work.

Clouse said INDOT workers at the site have told her they will work as fast as they can. She said she hopes the weather cooperates so they can finish as planned.

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