Newport business owners frustrated with construction

January 27, 2016 10:05 pm

By Bianca Buono

@BBuonoABC6

A major construction project on Broadway in Newport is leaving business owners frustrated. They say the roadwork is getting in the way of sales.

"We were making very good sales and then all of a sudden they dropped 30-35 percent as soon as soon as construction started which is tough for a beginning small business,” said Sara Fitch, co-owner of Van Gogh Pizza.

Van Gogh Pizza on Broadway in Newport had a front row seat to the $5.8 million Broadway Streetscape construction project last year.

"It was crazy. Dust, dirt everywhere. Half of the street was dirt for almost the entire summer,” said Fitch.

The key word is summer. It’s the tourism season that many business owners in Newport rely on. Construction is set to pick up again in March and continue until November, coinciding with the busy tourism season.

"It lowers everyone’s sales,” Fitch said.

"It was really tough to get people in here during the summer especially during the daytime hours when they were working,” said Tim Sousa of The Tavern on Broadway.

The mayor says she hears their concerns.

"We’ve always known that this is a major artery into the city,” said Mayor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano.

Mayor Napolitano is weighing options to help, including finding alternative parking and looking into changing the construction schedule.

"We’re looking at potentially maybe changing the hour structures however anytime you change contracts, a change-order costs money,” Napolitano said.

She’s not sure if that’s going to happen but believes it will all be worth it when the project wraps up in 2017.

"I think it’s not only going to be beautiful but it’s really going to help them financially, economically. I think it’s going to be the place to be,” said Napolitano.

The mayor tells me the city is going to meet with contractors to find out how much it would cost to shift construction hours.