Rampant construction and delays are impacting small businesses that rely on foot traffic.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queen City is growing and according to an analysis conducted by the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, numbers will continue to spike.
The Charlotte region is expected to grow 50% by 2050 from about 3 million to 4.5 million people, but with that comes growing pains like rampant construction and delays impacting small businesses that rely on foot traffic.
Mary Hamby is the owner of Twenty Two West, which is where they hand make jewelry and home decor.
Hamby said they were in business about six months before construction started on Tuckaseegee Road.
“Things are hard, construction has definitely made it harder,” Hamby said. “If you get caught the wrong side of the construction you can spend quite a bit of time trying to navigate around.”
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The intersection being remodeled is the five-legged intersection where Tuckaseegee, Berryhill and Thrift connect.
Right now, officials say the wait time at the intersection is just too long so City of Charlotte Project is using $5 million to replace the traffic light intersection with a five-legged roundabout.
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They’re also planning to include crosswalks, sidewalks, landscaping and decorative lighting.
Small businesses that rely on foot traffic are growing impatient with how long it’s taking.
The project manager said they’ve encountered several utility delays, so it won’t be complete until June. But they will open the road in a limited capacity within the next couple of weeks.
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“My hope is that once the construction is done we have that beautiful roundabout and corridor is connected again,” Hamby said.
Business owners like Hamby said it’s the first step toward getting traffic and business flowing back into the neighborhood.
“It’s been a really supportive welcoming community for my business,” she said.
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