PLAINFIELD — Plans to repair a damaged section of Route 12A in Plainfield have some farmers worried that construction — which could close off a stretch of road entirely — could hamper business during the busy spring season.

“It would close this. It would close our farmstand,” Anne Sprague, co-owner of Edgewater Farm, said of a potential road closing and detour. “I mean, there would be no traffic.”

A roughly 150-foot span of 12A just north of Riverbend Veterinary Clinic was partially closed last week after the bank of the Connecticut River washed out, cracking pavement and pulling the guardrail from the soil.

While Route 12A — which carries about 3,000 vehicles a day — currently is open to one-way, alternating traffic, that could change soon as transportation officials assess how to best make repairs.

An emergency fix “will require considerable excavation and closure of the road,” wrote Bill Boynton, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, in an email on Tuesday. “For how long we do not know at this point, but we will work to keep (it) as short as possible.”

If the road is closed, a detour likely would take vehicles along Interstate 89, Route 120 and Stage Road, Boynton said. That amounts to a nearly 25-mile detour from end to end.

Sprague’s Edgewater Farm started its greenhouse season last week and saw customers browsing its selection of flowers and plants in the rain on Tuesday morning. Roadwork nearby would threaten that business, which partially relies on passing traffic and commuters coming from West Lebanon, Sprague said.

“Plainfield prides itself in having River Road with all the agriculture. But if we can’t sell our product to people, we can’t go forward,” she said.

Pat McNamara, co-owner of nearby McNamara Dairy, said it’s not just customers who would have a difficult time navigating a detour. His farm relies on trucks to deliver supplies and to haul away milk and other goods.

“It would definitely impact the business, but we do realize (the road) needs to be fixed,” he said in a phone interview. “We understand that, but we need to explore some options.”

Those options should include repairs that keep the road open or use a shorter detour on local roads, McNamara said.

However, Boynton wrote that the Department of Transportation prefers state-owned roads for the potential detour because they can handle the traffic.

Town roads “are not built in the condition to handle the volume or types of traffic for the period of time this repair project is likely to require,” Boynton wrote.

Transportation officials are waiting until the river lowers before finalizing plans for the road, said Doug King, DOT District 2 engineer, adding that more information likely will be available next week.

“The damage was a little worse than we originally thought, so we’re re-evaluating what our options are,” he said.

State officials also will provide an update on the road to the Plainfield Selectboard at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Meriden Town Hall.

In the meantime, workers are watching the road and monitoring whether the slope remains stable, King said.

Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.