Construction On Capital Boulevard Causes Headaches For Business Owners

Butch Dyer runs a oil change shop on Capital Boulevard. He says having a business with the constant construction is tough.

"On a Saturday, usually the whole thing is packed full and I've got people running around, but we haven't had a solid hour yet," Dyer says.

Dyer says when there was no construction on Capital Boulevard last weekend, his crew worked on 44 cars, which was double the usual load. However, a week later with construction in full swing, just 20 cars showed up two hours before closing time.

Cleveland Grace manages a fast food restaurant next to the oil change shop. He says his business on weekends is off by almost 50 percent because his potential customers are not wanting to deal with the traffic due to the road construction.

"When people get in, they don't want to get out because it's so hard to get back in," Grace says. "The construction has taken a big toll on everything around here. It's bad enough that you can tell the sales have dropped."

Businesses along Capital Boulevard will have to deal with the road construction for quite a while longer.

ADepartment of Transportationspokesperson says the construction project is not due to be finished until the year 2002.