Construction crews are dwindling, the smell of fresh asphalt is in the air and the morning commute gets a little bit smoother each day.

But motorists aren't the only ones happy to have the sound of jackhammers cease and see the hundreds of orange traffic cones disappear.

For business owners along Route 1 in the Lewes-Rehoboth Beach area -- many of whom have seen a drop in customers since the construction crews moved in fall of 2006 -- the end can't come soon enough.

"We can see the light at the end of the tunnel," said Tim Cano, manager of B&B Music and Sound, a shop affected by the construction. "(The Delaware Department of Transportation) has done things like paving on Saturdays and around Christmas, they actually blocked off our entrance."

DelDOT officials said the project is nearing completion. In two weeks, the only crews left on the road will be those pouring concrete for crossovers and painting traffic lines. The project, they said, is expected to wrap before the summer kicks off on Memorial Day weekend.

Dennis Vieira of Waterstill South, a drinking water supplier located in the Tenley Court shopping center south of Lewes, said the construction upset his business practices multiple times.

"The worst time was last year," he said. "When they did the paving back in August they put up barriers and set up right on the median."

Traffic flow into the shopping center's lot was restricted due to DelDOT's barricades, preventing customers from visiting his store, Vieira said. Blockages have occurred as recently as this week.

DelDOT officials said they are keeping traffic and business considerations in mind.

Michael Williams, manager of the agency's public relations department, said his peers were very clear on the potential impacts of the project.

"We were very honest and upfront from the beginning that this would be an inconvenience, not just to motorists but to businesses as well," he said. "It was not something we pretended wouldn't happen."

The business community was one of the catalysts for the Route 1 project in the first place, said Carol Everhart, executive director of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce.

"This all began at requests from the business community as well as residents to increase traffic flow by increasing the number of lanes," she said. "Over the years, many sections of the highway have been improved and each time it's been painful."

So for Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, and the other communities affected by the project, that light at the end of the tunnel, Everhart said, is getting brighter by the day.

"It's kind of like needing surgery on something," Everhart said. "It's painful, but at the end you're glad you went through it."

source: delmarvanow.com