KENTWOOD, Mich. — PJ's Pizza and Ice Cream, a long-standing establishment in Kentwood, has been delighting customers with its combination of pizza and ice cream for over a decade. However, recent road construction on 52nd Street has significantly impacted business.
WATCH: Kentwood pizza shop feels the burn from road construction
“We have seen a lot of inactivity,” said Richard Till, Owner of PJ's since 2012, referring to the sluggish progress of the roadwork, adding that it is “still kind of moving at a snail's pace.”
Till, who owns PJ’s alongside his wife Louise, has seen a decline in the usual customer flow due to the ongoing construction.
The roadwork involves a re-pavement project the city says was necessary and part of a long-term planning process. "We get federal funding, so we get a bunch of money from the state to help us do the project," said Brad Boomstra, an engineer with the city of Kentwood. "With those projects, the planning starts five to 10 years before we actually do the project."
While Till acknowledges the need for the construction, he expressed concerns about the communication of the project to local businesses. “You'd want to be a little more informed about that," Till said, noting that his assumption was that traffic would flow both ways, as it did during previous nearby roadwork.
Boomstra noted they share updates on social media and the street website. And he understands the shared challenges, stating, "When you do road construction work, you do impact businesses. It's not just the local traffic, but also access to businesses. There's all these trade offs in terms of doing construction. You know, we're trying to get it done in a timely manner. We're trying to keep people safe”.
Residents, too, have felt the secondary impacts of the construction, "We had to go to 60th Street, all the way down 60th to Kalamazoo or wing street to get to Breton Street," said Sheri Goodwin, a resident of the Bailey Grove neighborhood. " And, you know, we have things on Breton street that we go to, so it's extra mileage. It's gas money. We're all retired, and so it's been hard.”
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Despite only one lane currently open, businesses like PJ's await the project's completion. Till remains optimistic, stating, “We knew the road was in bad shape, so it's good to see it done.”
The city has indicated that final roadwork will be completed by Friday, August 15th, with full access expected to resume that day. Till looks forward to returning to normal operations and welcoming potential new customers.
