New outlet mall expected to clog roads Thursday

You've sat in traffic for football games, basketball games and big concerts.

How about an outlet mall?

Up to 40,000 people are expected when the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass opens Thursday in Simpsonville at exit 28 of Interstate 64.

That stretch normally sees about 57,000 vehicles a day.

To alert drivers in both directions in the coming days, flashing message signs will advise those passing through to stay in the left lane on the highway, Kentucky Department of Transportation spokeswoman Andrea Clifford said. Mall travelers should stay in the right hand lane, she said.

Once the opening weekend crush to shop at the likes of Saks, Michael Kors, North Face, Columbia, and Coach, the daily flow around the mall will run between 10,000 and 13,000 shoppers, tourists and mall workers, mall spokeswoman Gina Slechta said.

"It is going to be a mess," said Tina Hardin, 45, a worker at the new Culver's restaurant on Buck Creek Road adjoining the mall and it's 90 chain stores. "I am going to try to get dropped off for work so I don't have to be in the mess."

Simpsonville commuters are advised to plan extra time if they are traveling via I-64 or major roadways nearby like like Shelbyville Road, Simpsonville mayor Steve Eden said.

Once near the mall, you might find the 2,150-space parking lot full and be directed to temporary overflow parking lots — on Buck Creek Road and at a flea market across I-64, Slechta said.

Five police officers, the full force of the Simpsonville Police Department, as well as Kentucky State Police will direct traffic, Eden added. The City of Simpsonville will post traffic alerts as needed on its municipal website, he added.

"The weekend will be the worst stretch. We are going to ask that drivers avoid that interchange if possible," Eden said. "We are looking at a two week stretch that we will just have to get through. Then, like any other business in our town, I think traffic will flow."

About 1,500 fashion fans have already purchased $50 tickets for the Wednesday night charity benefit preview opening of the mall, said Michael Neumann, executive director of development at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center. Up to 3,000 attendees will receive a coupon book with $300 worth of discounts, Neumann added.

The "Shopping for a Cure - VIP Preview Shopping Event" from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. will also feature a silent auction and a cash bar.

Shops, are still hiring the full contingent of an estimated 1,300 retail workers to staff stores. Mall workers will be parking in overflow lots, Slechta said, to make the most spaces available for shoppers.

Information about job openings is being updated via the Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass page on Facebook. As of Monday, that page included openings for part-time stylists at Michael Kors, as well as sales staff at NY&C Outlet, Uniform Outlet and Francescas.

Culver's franchisee Jason Behnke said he is still looking for hands for the 57-member staff manning his new chain restaurant noted for its frozen custard and the "Butter Burger." Applications are being taken at the store.

Truck traffic, meanwhile, has already proven too much for a new, tight turn into the mall. Tractor trailers supplying merchandise for stores have cut a deep rut into Culver's newly-laid sod and cracked the eatery's sidewalk. The Kentucky Department of Transportation will strengthen the concrete and widen the lane width to accommodate the big rigs, but not before the mall opens Thursday, Clifford said.

Behnke said his workforce will park at the shuttered BP gas station at the intersection, a short walk up a hill, to free up space in his parking lot. His main concern, he added, was running out of food. To stock up, the new Culver's has 250 pounds of vanilla-flavor frozen custard on hand, in lieu of the usual 50-pound inventory. Sixty cases of beef are in-house, triple the usual reserve, he said.

"Traffic could be backed up two miles each way on I-64," Behnke said of his worst case scenario for the coming days. "We will be here early and we will be here late."

Jere Downs can be reached at (502) 582-4669, Jere Downs on Facebook and JereDowns on Twitter.

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