"Like Shoveling Flames on Surface of the Sun"

Road crews shut down one lane in each direction of Lancaster Ave. by Whole Foods in Devon Wednesday afternoon as the sun beat down on the day of the summer solstice. Summer has arrived in Chester County with a steaming hot vengeance.

For road crews it's particularly challenging. As cars roll by with windows up and air conditioning cranked, the tailpipes send super heated exhaust into the lanes where flaggers like Jen Keyser are aready working under a bright sun and in hard hats.

"It feels like I'm working on the surace of the sun," Keyser quipped, adding "tell everyone who's going to drive through here to bring a bottle of cold water."

Keyser talked to Patch while taking a break from the street under a shade tree, where the temperature was still well into the 90's. Risheen Crosland is another flagger who seconded the joke about asking drivers to bring chilled bottles of water. Crosland added "it feels like we're shoveling flame on the surface of the sun!"

Crews were working on a gas pipe under the left eastbound lane of Lancaster Ave. The work was expected to go on well into the late afternoon.