CONCORD, N.C. — Business owners in Concord claim they’ve been blindsided after finding out only yesterday that a portion of Union Street downtown will be closed for months.
The street will be closed through the summer as crews begin adding new drainage pipes and water lines for the Downtown Streetscape Project.
[ ALSO READ: 2 Atrium Health employees forge lifelong bond over near-tragedy ]
Channel 9′s Anthony Kustura traveled to Concord and met with different local business owners who are still recovering from shutdowns, and setbacks.
Beginning Wednesday, the road will be closed between Cabarrus Avenue and Corban Avenue; the sidewalks will stay open, and the city says free parking will be available throughout the construction.
Crews are expected to start blocking the road tonight around 5 p.m.
Sisters and owners of Press and Porter Coffeehouse, in downtown Concord, Emily Cordero, and Anna Pinto, are expecting to face another potential slowdown.
“If we can get through this we can get through anything, and that’s right about the time downtown concord went under construction,” said Cordero.
[ ALSO READ: 9 Investigates: Power grid attacks up 79%; discrepancies in reporting incidents ]
Just across the street is the Cabarrus Creamery, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary this summer. Beth Huss, the owner of the ice cream shop, is nervous that construction will impact the store during its busiest season.
“We were hoping that it would happen in the wintertime so we could actually make a living in the summertime,” said Huss.
Even though sidewalks will stay open, business owners say it doesn’t make it any easier to get to their shops. The main thing that owners are frustrated with is the lack of notice they received, but the co-owner of Press and Porter Coffeehouse is thankful for the support from customers and is hopeful that will carry them through.
“Support downtown, all of the businesses will be hit by this,” Pinto said.
(WATCH BELOW: Applications open for NCDOT’s HBCU internship and fellowship program)
This browser does not support the video element.