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Harker Heights bar owner says incomplete road work is destroying his parking lot, driving customers away

INCOMPLETE DRAINAGE WORK AFFECTING LOCAL BUSINESS
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HARKER HEIGHTS, Texas — Over five months — that's how long the owner of Sean's Pub in Harker Heights says the drainage work in front of his bar has been going on.

It’s a situation that Robert Wieland says is getting worse for him and the installers.

Robert Wieland is the owner of Sean’s Pub and says the drainage work in front has been a nightmare.

”They did the road construction several months ago — they never came back and back filled it,” Wieland said.

"Water through my drainage ditch is overflowing — we're having issues with the entrance to our parking lot. They cut major ditches to put the new culverts in there, and now I've got bid ruts.”

The water is back in up on one end and overflowing into the parking lot.

On the other, it’s mud that’s an issue — it's all taking a major toll on his parking lot and his bottom line.

The number of people stopping by Sean’s Pub for a cold drink is going down because they are worried about their vehicles coming into the parking lot, and it’s not just the potholes.

”One of the culverts has a hole in it already, and I'm afraid of safety, and my big beer trucks coming over this and crushing it,” Wieland said.

The work is being contracted through TxDOT — 25 News reached out to for answers and got an emailed statement saying the work is part of a rehabilitation project on FM 2410 that will pick back up when the weather is better.

“TxDOT encourages property owners to contact their local TxDOT Area Office, who will work with the contractor to address any driveway issues," a TxDOT official said.

Until TxDOT’s response was shared with Wieland, he was unsure who to contact.

Now that he knows, he plans to contact them.

In the meantime, he wants to make sure the situation doesn’t get worse.

”I just want the understanding of communication between them and us, and letting us know that their game plans are, and when do we fall into the next cycle of getting the project done,” Wieland said.

Wieland says he just wants to bring this issue to light and know when the work will be finished, so he stops losing money and can get to work repaving his parking lot.