Businesses owners frustrated by delays on Sharon Amity bridge construction

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Construction on the Sharon Amity Road bridge over Independence Boulevard was supposed to be completed last year, but delays have prevented completion.

The bridge has been up for months but still has not opened up for traffic.

Construction began in 2013.

“(The) last three years, it's been terrible due to construction,” Raja Aildasani at Imagination Men’s Clothing said.

He said his business, which has been open for 20 years, has been struggling because of the construction.

“My business is very bad,” he said. “(The) last three years is very, very bad. I don't know how I'm surviving.”

The North Carolina Department of Transportation hoped to open the interchange by the end of 2016, but weather pushed it back.

The weather is to blame once again for stalling the scheduled opening this weekend.

"This weekend's forecast will not enable the contractor to complete the work,” NCDOT officials said in a statement.

Bo Puckett at Griffen Tire is tired of waiting and said business is down 40 percent.

“They keep saying things are going to get done, and nothing ever gets done,” Puckett said.

There are signs of progress, but it's a far cry from where things should be.

Devere Construction walked off the job in January, pushing the completion date from last October to sometime this summer.

Cox Media Group