SerpApi.Org
ADAMS, New York (WWNY) - A state construction project is costing Adams businesses up to half their sales — and the road won’t reopen until late August.
Freeway Grocery owner Jessica Shultz said the timing could not be worse.
“I’m down 50%. I have lost all of my 81 southbound traffic, all of the lakeshore traffic, and this is my busiest time of the year,” Shultz said.
The project, which began July 13, involves culvert repairs that block southbound drivers exiting Interstate 81 from turning left onto State Route 178, also known as West Church Street. Drivers coming into Adams from Lake Ontario on Route 178 are also cut off from businesses.
Shultz said the losses threaten more than just her summer revenue.
“I have to have this business, or I will not survive the winters here in New York,” she said.
McDonald’s cutting staff as sales slide
Freeway Grocery is not alone. Kimberly Lawrence, a shift manager at the Adams McDonald’s, said the construction has pushed sales down nearly 50% — and workers are paying the price.
“It’s had quite an impact. Our sales are over — almost 50%, I think they said 40% down — which means we are having to cut labor, and people that are needing a paycheck are getting cut. And also our customers are getting discouraged cause they have to go all the way around to come in,” Lawrence said.
The state expects to reopen West Church Street in late August.
