By By EMILY PALADINO / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Single-lane traffic along M51 has caused more than a few headaches for area drivers in the past few months. But business owners along the torn-up highway are facing headaches of their own - headaches brought on by frustration over decreased business and worry that their stores might not make it through the next few months of construction.
With traffic heading southbound only, some businesses have seen a 40 percent drop in sales since construction began in early May.
Construction on the road began right before the flower shop's usual Mother's Day rush.
The construction will be worth it in the long run, Hurlbutt said. "It will be positive when I don't get calls in the middle of the night saying, 'Somebody ran into your store because the curve is too sharp.'"
He says he plans to fare through the next few months until construction ends in October. "I'm just going to hold on. It's all I really can do."
Loud Music owner and life-long Niles resident Jim Wheetley said he shares Hurlbutt's frustration. "The helpless part is that you have to stand here and wait for it to be over."
Wheetley, who sells motorcycle accessories in addition to stereo equipment, has been in his building for about four years. "I've tried to be upbeat about it, but it's just a shame. You spend years trying to build something up and then something like this comes along and just ruins it."
Wheetley said loyal customers are one of the reasons his business has been able to survive. "Our motorcycle customers are loyal enough to keep us going. Motorcycle people don't mind going out of their way because it gives them some extra time on their bikes. It's fun for them."
One local business, however, has been forced to deal with the backlash of the construction without the benefit of a loyal customer base. The King Fish restaurant, which opened May 5, has struggled to stay afloat in its inaugural months. When construction started, business fell by about 40 percent and four employees had to be laid off, employee Georgia Brown said.
The building's owner, Richard Pfiefer, bought the lot knowing that the construction was coming, Brown said. "But he never thought it would be this bad."
Brown shares the same frustrated optimism as many of the other business owners along the road. "We'll make it," she said, noting that many of the road construction workers come in to eat during their lunch breaks. "We'll miss that business once it's gone."