Businesses feel construction blues

IRONWOOD - As construction continues on Cloverland Drive/U.S. 2 in Ironwood, businesses east of Curry Street are suffering the consequences.

It's the second of a two-year project that will widen lanes and install upgraded utilities and sidewalks. Last year, construction went from Curry Street westward to Curry Park, near the Wisconsin border.

Now in the second half of the project, work is being done east of Curry Street to Roosevelt Street.

According to Patrick Hebert, supervisor for general contractor Hebert Construction of Iron River, everything has gone according to plan.

"We're still in the early phases of construction," he said. "Everything's been real positive. The reaction has been positive, and we're try to stay positive, too."

If everything keeps going according to plan, Hebert said construction should be completed by mid October.

As construction continues, westbound traffic is being detoured to Jackson Road. As a result, Forslund Building Supply Manager Dave Pawlak said his store has gained exposure.

"It hasn't effected business that much," he said. "If anything, it has given us more more exposure."

East of Curry Street on U.S. 2, business hasn't been booming, as restaurants, inns, stores and other companies all reported drops in sales and customers.

Breakwater Restaurant regional manager Dave Martin reported profit losses due to less customers walking through their door.

"Sales and customers are going down," he said. "For this first couple of weeks, our sales were down 5 to 10 percent, now they're down 15 to 20 percent."

In order to get more customers, Martin said Breakwater put up signs to navigate them to their restaurant.

"We put up a sign on Jackson Road, but it's gone now," he said, adding he was unsure who took it down.

By widening the lanes, Martin said construction will effect Breakwater's parking lot.

"With the project, they're taking away four feet from our parking lot," he said. " But we have a big enough parking lot already for our customers."

Like Breakwater, Classic Motor Inn owner Robert Burchell said guests have had to find alternate routes.

"It has affected business a little bit," he said. "They've had to maneuver around the back roads to get here."

Red's Auto Owner Bob D'Antonio said his company has also experienced problems.

"The car wash is down because of a lack of traffic going by," he said. "Auto sales have gone down a little."

Located on the corner of Lake Street and Cloverland Drive, Z Place Gallery owner Janice Wyssling echoed their grievances.

"It is down, business is most definitely down," she said. "We have much less traffic, too."

During these tough times, Wyssling said businesses on Cloverland Drive need all the support they can get.

"What I would like to see is local people paying more attention to businesses in the construction zone," she said.

When Cloverland Drive is completed, Wyssling said it will all be worth it.

"What we're going through, is going to be worth it, because the end product is going to be fabulous," she said.