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Road construction killing St. Charles business

"It's horrible. It's crippled my business," said Smith.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – It's a project designed to make the streets of St. Charles better.

But months of construction and traffic are bleeding out a local business's bottom line.

Andy Smith brings things to life.

It's a skill he's perfected at his garden center, My Secret Garden on Droste Road in St Charles.

But, he may not survive at this location much longer.

“It's horrible. It's crippled my business,” said Smith.

Smith is talking about the $4 million-dollar roads project up and down Droste Road.

“It's a complete rebuild of the infrastructure and it's also an enhancement. We've had some issues with utility conflictrs that have slown things down a little bit,” said Jim Germaud, assistant city engineer.

“We're a small business. People don't want to fight this construction to get into my store,” said Smith.

Smith said his lot has become part of the construction zone.

“We had piles and piles of dirt, rock. Trucks, working trucks for the subcontractor, the city ... We had everyone here. All the trucks were staged here in my parking lot. I had like 11 of them at a time,” said Smith.

The delays and road closures have cost him customers during one of his leanest times of the year.

“From Thanksgiving to January 1st, it was closed seventeen times. I've estimated I’ve lost since we opened in mid sept, close to $30,000,” said Smith.

What was the city's response to smith's concerns? Confusing.

“it's important to get all your proper permits and approvals inspections before you open. And that didn't happen in this case,” said Bruce Evans, director of community development.

We asked Evans how having permits would’ve impacted Smith’s construction complaints.

“Then I think the city would've been in a better position to work with him,” said Evans.

Smith is looking ahead to spring, when he said the project was supposed to be complete.

But now it seems the project will be complete at the end of May, according to city engineers.

“Spring is a big deal to me. I make 70 percent of my income. If I have to deal with this, I’m going to have to close my doors,” said Smith.

Smith also filed a loss of income claim with the city counselor's office. We're told that request is still pending.

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