INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — A major road project in Indian Trail has business owners worried that customers will no longer be able to access their shops.
A new superstreet is being constructed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation along Highway 74, which will span four major intersections.
The first traffic disruption from the project, which began over the summer, happened Wednesday morning when road crews clipped a utility fiber, shutting down Highway 74 for three hours.
The superstreet will begin at the intersection of Indian Trail Road in the west and will run all the way to the Wesley Chapel Road and Sardis Church Road intersection in the east.
Small business owner Benji Riggins told Channel 9 that the new superstreet is so confusing, he's still trying to figure out how to get to the business he's owned for 12 years.
"It seems like every direction I would come from is going to be changed," Riggins said.
The project will make it so drivers on side streets will no longer be able to turn left onto Highway 74. Drivers also won't be able to turn left from medians.
Instead, every 1,000 feet, there will be a turn lane where drivers can make a U-turn.
"You know what happened in Charlotte. It seems like that's the way it's headed with us," Riggins said, referring to the stretch of Independence Boulevard closer to Uptown Charlotte.
Thirty years ago, it was a vibrant retail corridor. The businesses that filled what are now empty lots moved out when freeway construction made it hard for customers to access shops.
On Tuesday, Channel 9 talked to a 74-year-old driver in Indian Trail who said she's already struggling to access businesses blanketed by construction.
NCDOT officials said they're building the superstreet because it will break up traffic congestion and cut down on crashes. Riggins worries it will also cut down on his customers.
"The businesses are going to be hurt," he said.
NCDOT officials said crews are on track to finish the road project by November 2018, and that there are plans to extend a superstreet to Rocky River Road next year.
There are also plans to start even more road work on Secrest Shortcut Road in Monroe in a few more years.
Eyewitness News reporter Mark Barber will have a full report on business owners' concerns on Channel 9 starting at 5 p.m.
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