Businesses Are Open But Suffering As Mystic Streetscape Continues

Under siege, a mess, a disaster—are the phrases many are using to describe what downtown Mystic looks like.

not normally associated with the picturesque community, but ones that business owners fear will during what is normally one of the busiest weekends of the year.

“We’re losing hundreds and thousands of dollars,” Carol Kanabas, who owns and said. “It’s becoming a joke, it is a joke. It’s sad.”

Kanabas and other downtown Mystic merchants met with Mystic Streetscape Project Manager Rick Norris and Groton Mayor Heather Somers for an update on the project Friday morning at the .

Paving on West Main Street began on Friday and past the June 30, 2012 deadline. No work will take place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday due to the Fourth of July holiday.

With the holiday weekend here and the construction ongoing business owners are worried people will stay away from Mystic.

“Just looking at my numbers is nauseating,” Donna Williston of said, adding her business is down .

Somers said the town and the is working to have announcements on the radio stations saying at the .

“We just have to have it clean by tomorrow morning,” Somers said. She instructed Norris to make sure the construction trucks are gone for the weekend.

Merchants also asked wanted to know why the contractors were not working at night to finish the project, how the contractors were vetted and why when the contractors did not produce a work schedule on time the town hadn’t re-bid then.

Norris answered some of the questions saying that working at night is up to the contractors and isn’t something the town can require.

“The expectation is when you hire someone they do the job,” Norris said.

The Mystic Streetscape Project is a $3.6 million plan , but has disrupted businesses on and off since.