Everyday for nearly a year, siblings J.J. and Liz Pearse have coexisted with the construction outside their house on the intersection of Main Street and Poe Road.

The Pearse’s, who have lived in their house for about a year, said construction began a few weeks after they moved in.

However, even with roughly 11 months of construction, they said living with the sounds and congestion of construction isn’t so bad.

Liz said the workers have been pretty considerate.

“We deal with weird noises in general as musicians … so it hasn’t really bothered us,” said J.J., who is pursuing a master’s in Orchestral Conducting, while his sister is working toward a doctorate in Contemporary Music.

While construction can be bothersome, the project will benefit users.

The purpose of the construction is to widen the roadway from Newton to Poe roads, add a turn lane and two thru lanes, said Theresa Pollick, District Two public information officer for the Ohio Department of Transportation. ODOT oversees the project because it is on a state route (Main St., Rt. 25), she said.

This will add capacity and safety improvements while reducing congestion in the area, Pollick said.

“You had a lot of people making turns into businesses, backing [traffic] up and causing rear end crashes,” she said.

The construction will mitigate that problem, she said. It is a two year project that started in July 2011 and is projected to end in August 2013.

The project cost $7.4 million and is funded 80 percent by federal dollars and the city has to cover the remaining 20 percent, Pollick said. The city also has to pay for their own water lines and pumping stations.

There have been no major set backs to delay the projected completion date, but there have been some utility issues dealing with the future installation of a storm sewer and current waterlines, Pollick said in the email.

These issues will result in the closure of Poe Road in both directions from Main to Grove streets starting May 29 through July, she said in the email.

The only other problem was the natural gas leak on May 15, when a contractor digging holes for utility poles struck a six-inch pipe around 2 p.m., spewing gas into the air and causing the evactuation of surrounding homes and businesses.

Liz remembers when she had to evacuate. She wasn’t scared, she just packed up, she said.

“I’d rather be safe than dead,” Liz said. “If it blows up, it’s not my house, it can all be replaced.”

Columbia Gas, the company the pipe belonged to, was quick to respond to ensure the area wasn’t in any danger.

The company received a call at 2:11 p.m., a crew was on the scene at 2:25 p.m. and the situation was made safe at 5:22 p.m., said Chris Kozak, communication and community relations manager for Columbia Gas.

Repairs were made and completed at 11 p.m., Kozak said.

Due to the leak, 15 customers had their gas shut off, but service was restored by the next morning, he said.

Emmaleen Hartley, general manager at Rally’s, where the gas leak was closest to, said they were shut down for six hours.

“We were busy that day,” she said. “It could have been a sales-breaking day.”

Rob Armstrong, spokesman for Big Boy Family Restaurants, said when police said to evacuate, the restaurant decided to close down for the rest of the day, not requiring any guests there to pay.

“It’s unfortunate, but there’s no one to blame,” he said.

Armstrong said overall, construction isn’t an aggravation and its customers remain loyal. They have noticed an increase in business at the Big Boy on East Wooster Street.

Like Armstrong, Hartley said in general construction has not really interfered with business.