BREA : Business Disrupted by Highway Work

Rob Walton knew his restaurant business was in for rough times last August when construction workers began to add two lanes to Imperial Highway from Berry Street to Randolph Avenue.

With his restaurant, Millie’s Country Kitchen, already hurting from the lingering recession, workers began tearing up the street in front of his place, at the corner of Imperial and Randolph.

On the first week of construction, workers digging a ditch nearby struck a gas pipe, causing a leak, Walton said.

“It was noon and the restaurant was full,” he said. “Everybody had to be evacuated.”

Then, over the next two weeks, the driveway into his restaurant was closed and the U-turn signal at Randolph was shut down. To get to his restaurant, customers had to navigate a maze of detours, complicated by piles of dirt and construction equipment.

“That August, we had the biggest drop in sales for the past two years,” Walton said. “If not for the holidays, many businesses here would have gone down for the count.”

Walton’s situation is not unique. In Orange County, as more and bigger freeways are constructed and aging streets are improved and widened, businesses within the construction areas are often casualties.

Business owners along Imperial Highway are complaining of dropping sales, ranging from 10% to 30%, although the economy may be partly responsible, some said.

“It may be the economy, but the construction did not help any,” said Jim Hansen, manager of an auto repair shop, who said his business has gone down by 30% since the construction. “People would rather go somewhere else than fight with the traffic.”

Nick Merrill, owner of Conroy’s Flowers at the corner of Imperial and South Poplar Avenue, said sales have dropped by 10%. “The diggings were pretty disruptive,” he said.

Sherry L. Norman, executive director of the Brea Chamber of Commerce, said that while the construction has hurt businesses, she does not know of anyone who has gone out of business as a result.

“The recession and the construction were like a one-two punch,” Norman said. However, she said the city has tried to help businesses cope with the disruption.

The city has created a citizens’ panel to direct promotional campaigns. Also, the city’s sign ordinance was relaxed to allow businesses to put up bigger banners. Assistant City Manager Tim O’Donnell has directed the city efforts to help the businesses.

Work started on the north side of Imperial Highway, and the first phase is almost complete. So far, city officials say, new sewer lines, storm drains and water pipes have been installed. The lanes will then be repaved and new curbs and sidewalks constructed.

In April, work will switch to the center section of the highway. By August, work will begin on the south side. The project is expected to be completed in August, 1994.

The highway is expected to eventually handle 75,000 cars a day, compared to an estimated 45,000 now.

Bill Moore, who sells exercise equipment from a store along the highway, said the increase in traffic will be good for business. “It will bring more people into the area,” he said .