When the City of Calgary announced it was planning a multi-year road and utilities construction project along 17 Avenue S.W., Erin Mueller knew her restaurant would suffer a hit to the bottom line.
“We had originally felt that if we lost $10,000 a month, we would be able to get through it to the end of September,” she said. “We have lost substantially more than that every month. It’s really scary at this point.”
READ MORE: Calgary businesses brace for full road closures on 17 Avenue SW
Mueller’s restaurant, Naina’s Kitchen, is located between Centre St. and Macleod Trail S.E., which is the first stretch of 17 Avenue to undergo rehabilitation. The 30-year-old roadway and century-old underground utility corridor is getting overhauled and upgraded. The work requires the road to be closed to traffic, blocking street access to businesses like Mueller’s restaurant.
“There’s no access to the front of the building,” Mueller said. “Even though it’s on my website, and I’ve tweeted that we have access off 18 Avenue, people don’t realize it. And there’s really no signage at the closures saying how to get to us at all.”
The city acknowledges that signage hasn’t been working as they had intended, and it’s something they’re going back to the drawing board on.
“Right now, we’re in development for a lot more signage,” said Jessica Bell with the City of Calgary’s transportation division.
“We’re doing our best – and more than we’ve ever done before on a major construction project – to ensure that people still know that 17 Avenue is open, the businesses are functioning as they normally would, and [we’re] just trying to make sure people can get to where they’re going.”
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“It’s affecting whether customers can find us at all,” Mueller said. “If they do, they’re certainly not in a good mood when they do finally get in here.”
“A gentleman drove from Airdrie to come try our burgers and after trying to get to us for half an hour, gave up and didn’t come in at all.”
In addition to road work, 17 Avenue is getting some cosmetic upgrades. Tree trenches intended to spruce up the street have caused a four-week delay through to the end of September in the first phase of the project, after crews encountered unforeseen issues underground between Macleod Trail and Centre Street.
“We had to redesign where the trenches would go and that’s what took the time,” Bell said.
Mueller said she had anticipated the project would take longer than expected.
“I’m fine with the end of September, I’m just really hoping that actually happens,” Mueller said. “The progress happening right now, I find it hard to believe it’s going to be the end of September.”
READ MORE: 2 downtown Calgary roads to become one-ways during 17 Avenue revamp
The delays have also caused the schedule to be adjusted for the rest of the 2017 phase of the project, with construction between 2 Street S.W. and 4 Street S.W. starting after the Labour Day weekend, and the block between 4 Street S.W. and 5 Street S.W. to be started in late September. A 10-day storm water project nearby at 2 Street S.W. and 19 Avenue S.W., is slated to begin on Friday. All work in the 2017 phase is slated to be completed by early November.
While construction continues, Mueller is remaining optimistic about the potential to offset her losses in the coming weeks.
“I think we are going to get through it,” Mueller said. “I’m really banking on two weekends of Garth Brooks to help us through this. As long as we get some extra business because of that, I think that we’re going to be okay. But it’s pretty close, it’s hit and miss at this point whether or not we’re going to survive.”
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