In the midst of the ongoing project to rework the U.S. Highway 550-160 intersection, businesses are coping with reduced customer traffic.
At Linda’s Local Food Cafe, owner Linda Illsley said customers have had difficulty getting in and out of the business, which is in Albertsons parking lot.
“Obviously, it’s affecting business quite severely, but you can’t really blame people for staying away, right?” Illsley said.
“We’re down, and my guess is that any business in this general area is affected,” she said.
At DoubleTree Hotel, most guests who have reservations are staying, but some have chosen to relocate to other local hotels, said General Manager Peter Marshall.
“There has been some impact,” he said. “Some people have a tolerance for it. Some people don’t.”
DoubleTree staff have helped some upset guests find rooms in other hotels.
“Ultimately, we want them to be taken care of,” he said.
Marshall said he expects the impact to the hotel’s bottom line to remain minimal. Far more guests stay than leave, he said.
The construction project is expected to wrap up in mid-August, said Nancy Shanks, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Work is continuing at night to minimize some impacts.
While April typically is not a peak month for Durango’s tourism-driven economy, the construction could hurt the bottom line if it deters customers in the height of summer.
By Memorial Day, CDOT hopes to shift the work zone south and west, away from many of the affected businesses, Shanks said.
That would be welcomed by the businesses. At one point, customers at Linda’s were not able to leave the parking lot, Illsley said.
In other areas, the impacts haven’t been so bad.
“I have to admit, CDOT has done a pretty good job of getting people in and out of our parking lot,” said John Francis, market president at Wells Fargo, 200 W. College Drive.
At Liquor World, owner Sherry Wertz is taking advantage of the construction by rearranging the sales floor and installing a new cooler.
“I know the state needed to do what they needed to do, but it’s brutal out there,” she said of the traffic jams caused by construction.
Despite the mess, customers continue to come in, she said.
“We’re staying busy,” Wertz said. “I’m thankful I have a lot of good customers, loyal customers.”
At the General Palmer Hotel, at College Drive and Main Avenue, east of the construction, most guests are unaffected, General Manager Paula Nelson said.
Given the hotel’s location downtown, most guests park their cars and walk around, Nelson said.
Despite the inconveniences for customers and employees, business people said they would get through it.
“It is what it is,” Francis said.
cslothower@durangoherald.com
