NOVI, Mich. (WXYZ) — Eight months after a 42-inch water main broke on 14 Mile Road in Novi, some businesses along the corridor are still struggling to recover as construction continues.
Watch Christiana Ford's video report:
The owners of Maples Bar and Bistro say they have not returned to normal since the water main broke in September. Owner Ramy Denha says intermittent repair and road work have significantly reduced customer traffic, forcing the business to reduce hours and close on certain days.
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"It's just very frustrating," Denha said. "I was very hopeful that it would have been done by now, or something would have been fixed."
The westbound side of 14 Mile Road between M-5 and Lake Street recently reopened, but the eastbound side remains under construction. Denha says the restoration of the westbound lanes has helped, but the continued closure of the eastbound side is taking a financial toll while bills and city property taxes remain due.
"We are hurting really badly. We're just hoping for that road to open. It's probably affected us about 80% of our business, especially at lunchtime," Denha said."We understand infrastructure needs to be fixed and repaired. We, we're strong supporters, but what's the timeline? How long does it take? When can we get back and going? What do I, we tell our customers."
Maples Bar and Bistro is not the only business still feeling the impact. Dr. Tiffany Zair-Yalda owns 2020 Family Vision just down the road.
"We've definitely noticed that, kind of like I said, people are trying to push their appointments out and sometimes it's just too far, especially with follow-ups, certain conditions, even with kids, so I don't think they realize how many patients are actually doing that and even other businesses in the area are still being impacted," Zair-Yalda said.
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When asked about the timeline, the Great Lakes Water Authority said road restoration is a 3-step process and explained what's to come in a statement:
Road restoration is a three-step process: laying down stone aggregate base within the open-cut areas, forming/pouring curbs and driveway approaches, and laying new asphalt. There is also setting/curing time involved in some of the steps. Crews are completing road restoration in two phases: Phase 1, which is currently underway, is from Beachwalk Drive to Centennial Road, and Phase 2 is from Centennial Road to just west of M-5. Phases 1 and 2 may overlap. Full road restoration is expected to be complete by the end of June.
As for compensation for lost revenue, Denha says the business is on its own since they did not have business interruption insurance.
"I don't know what could be done for me. We're just here, and we've taken a big loss as a small business, and we've got to just see what happens next," Denha said.
They are hoping to rebound during the summer months, which is their busiest season.
"We're gonna stick it through. And we have no choice but to wait until the road gets restored and business goes back as usual, and be happy," Denha said.
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