The first part of the reconstruction of the third phase of Business 50 is drawing to a close. Construction crews have had the road closed from Southeast Second Street to SR 57 for almost two months, but that work is now drawing to a close.
“We are two months into the construction. A lot of things have happened in those two months. Highway 57 is opened north and south. The west bound lane on old Business 50 will be opening up hopefully soon,” said Washington Mayor David Rhoads. “They are doing concrete work now. We hope to get that open so that people can go west from SR 57 and that will help.”
What hasn’t helped is the lack of traffic for the nine businesses along that strip. Kurt Kelso at the End Zone says that while he did have access to his business he and his neighbors were hurt by the construction.
“We’ve been trying for a few years to get our business away from walk in business. We try to do business in other ways than have people walk in and order stuff,” said Kelso. “With this economy, it is hard to say but I am sure sales are down a little bit. Perry’s Auto next door has been hit hard. I don’t think he has sold a car during the construction.”
“I’ve pretty much been shut down. Business has been non-existent since April,” said Caleb Perry as Perry’s Certified Auto Exchange. “For the longest while I had no entrance or exit to my property. Also, I couldn’t display my cars on the lot. I had to pull them in up against the building. I couldn’t use my lot for what it was intended for and I had zero entrances and exits. I’ve had zero business for several months.”
Some of the businesses along that stretch though may not have suffered as much as others. Honeybee Realty was just beginning to move into its new office when the construction began.
“We are working our business by appointment only,” said Mark Graber with Honeybee Realty. “We have other office space and have tried to be flexible.”
Officials say they tried to give all of the businesses some form of public access but the scope of the project made that difficult.
“It is just a major project with all of the infrastructure, and the sidewalks and curbs, and the base is getting replaced, so there is a ton of work there. It’s got everything tore up,” said Rhoads. “That road closure has hurt some of those small businesses. We knew it would put them in a bind. We always tried to keep access to their lots. It has been an inconvenience. I have talked to the shop owners. Everybody is reacting differently.”
Most of the businesses in that stretch had a side street or alley entrance. The End Zone is in the middle of the block and even the side street entrance cobbled out off Third Street was often blocked.
“Just getting into the business has been difficult. There are so many workers and new ones would come in and not know where to park so they would park in the one patch my customers and employees had to get in,” said Kelso. “It has not been great.”
“I tried talking to different people, the mayor to see if there was any kind of help, we could get but it never went anywhere. I know it is a project and they have to get it done, but how long do you let it go on while it impacts your income and your family. It’s been a struggle,” said Perry. “As far as business we lost over the last several months, it can’t be made up at this point. Once it gets back open. I think business will slowly pick back up again, but there is no way it will make up for the thousands that was lost during this construction.”
Kelso says the redesign of the road is also causing concerns along that strip of businesses with their access from the highway being seriously lessened.
“My biggest beef is that before the construction we had two 25-foot entrances in front of our business. Same with Perry’s and Honeybee had one off of 50 and now all three of us are sharing one 20-foot-wide entrance. I feel the three of us are getting pretty screwed on that,” he said. “Our section was scheduled for 2026. I wasn’t concerned about getting into the design meetings. Then they flipped it and we were first. I was in Texas getting treated for cancer then. It’s frustrating.”
“There are a lot of things that I’m not happy about. I was told that all through this process I would have at least one entrance open and that didn’t happen. Also, during the design process I asked for a bigger entrance because I often have semis with cars to pick-up and drop-off. I thought we would get a 30-foot entrance and instead got a 20-foot entrance. That was a letdown,” said Perry.
Businesses are already noticing a slimmer road and question how well that will work, but Kelso says he is willing to reserve judgement on the project.
“I am all for the nice, better-looking road. It’s also a lot narrower. I am not sure what we have gained. They put the big sidewalk and bike path in there,” said Kelso. “I will hold my judgement until I see how it all works. It didn’t kill us, but it sure did hurt. I’m ready for it to open.”
“We are hoping to get this opened up and get out of their way,” said Rhoads. “I am certain it has hurt their business, but we are close to done and we hope we can get them back to normal business really soon. We knew that going in. Hopefully, the result will be worth it.”
Graber says he is trying to stay positive about the construction and consider the big picture.
“I’ve been trying to stay upbeat,” he said. “When it is done it is going to be a lot better. Unfortunately to make progress sometimes you have to do things like this and that is just where we are at. I will be happy to see the equipment move on down the road, but I will be just as excited to see the finished product in front of the business.”
As the work between Southeast Second and SR 57 winds down, construction crews will move to the area between SR 57 and SR 257. Work there is expected to continue the rest of this year.
One ancillary project tied to the construction on the highway is progressing well. A new access lane to the back of the Washington Primary School off of Highland Avenue is moving on schedule.
“It is coming along nicely,” said Jeff Owens with Taber-Owens Construction. “We have had some good weather and that has really helped us move the project along. That will be open before school starts.”
The plan is to give parents a back way to the school while the street in front is torn up for construction.
“It will give a one-way drive into the school that is much needed while the construction is happening along the highway,” said Owens. “The traffic will come in off of Highland and then empty out on Southeast 11th Street. That should really help with drop-off and pick-up at the school.”
The final phase of construction between SR 257 and State Street is set for next year.
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