New London — Residents of the Mohican Senior Apartments were unable to use the elevators Wednesday afternoon, forcing several to wait in the lobby and keeping others confined to their apartments for several hours.

Tom Evan, district manager for Related Management, the company that oversees the State Street building, said one of the elevators has been out of service for several weeks as part of a modernization project.

The building's other elevator stopped working at about 1 p.m., he said. A repairman was contacted, but due to a backlog of requests, was not expected to arrive at the Mohican until late afternoon or early evening, he said.

"There is a group of residents in the lobby area who have been unable to get to their apartments," he said. "We made an area available to them with air conditioning, and brought them water and pizza. It's an unfortunate part of doing renovations."

Resident Sheila Elliott lives on the ninth floor, was one of five residents waiting in the lobby at about 4 p.m. Wednesday. Because she uses a walker, she said, she depends on the elevator to get to her apartment.

"I've been here since around 2," said another resident, Maddy Jarvis, who uses a cane. "The managers are trying to do everything they can for us."

Another resident, who declined to give her name, said one of the management staff took the stairs to get her oxygen tank from her apartment when she returned to the building after the elevator broke.

Marc Melanson, battalion chief for the New London Fire Department, said the department was notified about the broken elevator but had not had any calls for emergency assistance from residents.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy