You've probably noticed the major construction projects in downtown St. Petersburg, and soon, there will be even more lanes closed. Crews are set to work on electrical manholes throughout downtown.
“It’s inconvenient,” Emily Armstrong said, as she biked through downtown.
“It’s certainly more dangerous to be riding or driving down here when there’s lane closures, like without question, and like I said you’ll see a lot more of us on the sidewalks trying to get out of the way of traffic,” Armstrong said.
Duke Energy is planning to work on infrastructure, part of a $140 million dollar project.
With the holiday season here, business owners are also feeling frustration. Pure Natural Nail Lounge often depends on foot traffic, despite being next door to construction.
“I definitely think that there is an affect, I mean people kind of tend to stay away from the construction zones and all the traffic and also parking too, parking has always been an issue,” owner Coy Bentley said.
Thirsty First is brand new, and has been competing with construction the last four months.
“It keeps people away because there is a lot of dust clouds there’s a lot of big noise, things like that I mean you can feel it, the ground basically vibrates every ten minutes because they’re hitting stuff,” owner Greg Mikurak said.
But roads closed now can mean future progress. That's the hope for business owners.
“I’ll deal with it as it comes for right now, it will affect people but it will bring more foot traffic in a year,” Mikurak said.
