Repairs to Lincoln Highway west of Annie Glidden Road are causing headaches for area businesses. Although the work is going to help improve business in the long run, right now the complaints are numerous.

Hardest hit so far are Hardees on the corner of Lincoln Hwy. and Annie Glidden and Motel 6 located on the south side of Lincoln Hwy.

Hardees’ manager, Rod Link, said the restaurant has lost much of its lunchtime business due to the construction. Link said, “No one is going to spend half of their lunch hour trying to get through traffic when they can go across town and get the same food without the wait.”

Link claimed, “I once saw a car wait over five minutes just to get out of our parking lot.”

Motel 6 assistant manager, Wanda Gray, said, “Occupancy is way down. One entryway is closed off completely and one customer was nearly hit by a Caterpillar (tractor).”

McDuffy’s and Taco Bell both have had fewer customers than normal and traffic has been a problem. Angelo Panagiotaros of McDuffy’s and Scott Schafer of Taco Bell both said the problems are minor but they do look forward to the project’s completion.

Mike Muzzarelli, owner of the Crystal Pistol Beach Club, said the work has not hurt his business. “If someone wants to come to the Crystal Pistol, traffic delays aren’t going to really matter to them. They’ll still come.” Muzzarelli said.

The $3.2 million project is due to be completed Dec. 1. Any land that the businesses lose to the new roadway will be paid for by the state. All of the area businesses agreed that upon completion, the improvements will help business. However, until that time, most of them will do their best to “grin and bear it.”