While the construction on Fourth Street has been a pain to some local businesses, some owners are trying to see the positives.

“It’s been pretty brutal, but we expected it,” said Jim Stiles, owner of Super Fresh Produce & Garden.

A portion of County Road 45 — or Fourth Street Northwest — is closed as crews resurface the street all the way to Highway 218. A one-way access road for northbound traffic has been installed for people to reach the road and businesses near the the Holiday Inn.

It’s a different story for businesses north of the construction. Stiles said it’s been tough to get people to make the trip, especially since it takes about four extra miles to take Highway 218 to a store like Super Fresh.

While it’s slowed business, Stiles said the new road will be far worth any nuisance.

“They’re making such wonderful improvement to the roads that it’s well worth a month or two or three of off business,” Stiles said.

Along with the newly paved street, Stiles noted the sidewalk along the road will extended to Cedar Valley Services. The entire new road will have a wider shoulder for walkers and bikers.

“The finished road is going to be so nice,” he said.

Brian Hegge, manager of Rent ‘n Save also said the work will be worth the end result.

“We can’t wait for the project to be over, but once it’s done, it’s going to be worth it,” he said.

While he said some customers have expressed displeasure, Hegge said his business hasn’t been greatly affected by the project. Partly, he said, because he’s one of the only rental stores in town.

“If they need it, they’re going to travel to it,” he said.

Hegge said he’s allowing for extra time on rentals due to any extra driving.

Cedar Valley Services is also allowing for more time in their work.

“It’s added about 20 minutes to everything we do,” said Rich Pavek, division director.

A high number of vehicles pass through Cedar Valley Services each day helping people get to their jobs, and Pavek said the construction has had a significant impact on their services.

“We run quite a fleet of vehicles here getting people to and from their jobs, and we kind of have to go around the long way now,” Pavek said.

Along with the added time, Pavek said buses with Austin-Mower County Transit no longer stop.

“It’s impacted us a lot, but it seems like it’s moving along pretty good and we’re handling it the best we can,” he said.

Good use

Stiles is trying to put the downtime in business to good use, as he said there are changes being made to improve the business.

“We’ve tried to use the time real positively and keep focused on the future,” he said.

A rain garden is going to be installed in front of Super Fresh, though work won’t start until this fall. Stiles said they’re also using the time to redo some of the items sold in the store’s greenhouse.

The time will also be used to do some remodeling inside Super Fresh, as Stiles said he’d like to make a few adjustments.

“Not a new Super Fresh, but certainly one that fits Austin better, and fits the changing customer,” he said.

Stiles has been at Super Fresh for 30 years, so this is a good time to re-focus. Stiles noted the changes won’t all be made by the time the road reopens.

Better timing?

The project was originally slated to start earlier in the summer, and Stiles said he was happy the work didn’t start until August. He noted a great deal of his business comes from May through July, and construction in that span would have been far more damaging to business.

The work on Fourth Street Northwest is moving along quickly, and Stiles is hopeful after word the first phase of construction could reopen for Labor Day.

The second phase of construction will center from north of Oakwood Cemetery to Murphy Creek Bridge, which brings construction to the road right in front of Super Fresh. However, the county intends to maintain two way traffic on Fourth Street during phase two.

North and south

Businesses on the southern end of the construction area have faired better during construction. Paul Worlein, director of Worlein Funeral Home, said his business has not been affected, and they had adequate time to prepare for the project.

“It’s not been a problem to this point,” he said. “People are able to reach us at this point.”

People can still access the funeral home through the access road near the Holiday Inn, and from 17th Street Northwest.

Worlein said they can still reach Oakwood Cemetery through the south entrance, but getting there is a bit of an inconvenience at this point.

Currently, funeral processions need to travel all the way around the mall to reach the entrance, which is just a few feet away, because the temporary access road is a one way. However, Worlein said he may contact the Austin Police Department to see if the road could be temporarily blocked for a funeral procession to reach the cemetery.

Worlein said the business will likely be a bigger concern to businesses like Super Fresh Produce & Garden when the project’s second phase begins.

Hanson noted all the businesses on Fourth Street are open and can be reached from Highway 218.