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'All through the summer I suffered': Months-long Lincoln Drive project affects Clarksville bakery

Owner Earnest Polston of Williams Bakery comes to his business 6 days a week and drives over 70 miles to make his customers happy.

CLARKSVILLE, Ind. — A road full of construction is the reality for Williams Bakery in Clarksville. 

The Lincoln Drive project is part of the city's plan to upgrade the water system. The development started in March and was supposed to be completed within 6 months. 

The owner of Williams Bakery, Earnest Polston, says the construction is affecting the flow of his business.

"They were supposed to be done in September," Polston said.

He's been waiting patiently for the construction to be completed in front of his business. 

"And here is it December and they're still not done," he said. 

This sewer project eliminated curbside parking, making it difficult for customers to get to the bakery. 

Polston comes to the bakery 6 days a week and drives over 70 miles to make his customers happy.

"All through the summer I suffered," he said. "I suffered and my bank account went way down."

With inflation and now construction affecting the parking, it still isn't stopping customers from coming in. Some have to park across the street just to get their hands on their favorite pastries. 

"Aw man, it makes me feel wonderful it really does. I mean you can see what they have to drive through," Polston said. 

Officials say this construction is dangerous work and they're trying their best to safely get it done. 

"If we didn't replace the system we could see backups into people's homes and could have a lot of other major problems with the system," Ken Conklin, communications director for Clarksville, said. 

The town informed its residents about the delay behind this project with news releases in August and October. 

"The other delay was caused by the depth that we had to dig through," Conklin said. "We had to dig 30 feet down to put these pipes in."

However, Polston just wants some kind of relief. He hopes to see his parking lot back to normal.

"I'm not going to let this bakery die because if it dies, I'm gone die - probably cause I'm not just going to let it happen," he said.

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