INDIANAPOLIS — A busy stretch of West Washington Street is still closed on the near west side of Indianapolis, and it's expected to stay that way until next summer.
While the road is closed, businesses nearby are just trying to keep their doors open.
"Having no traffic here, it has affected us," said Ricardo Lopez, manager of 4 Friends Auto Sales. "You could compare from the years before, and we've never sold so few vehicles."
Since 2010, Lopez said the business has relied on the car and foot traffic along Washington Street, which is a main thoroughfare into downtown Indianapolis.
Now, however, his commission-based employees aren't bringing in much money.
"If this stays like this, they're going to want to work somewhere else," Lopez said.
It's the same story across the street at Joe's Auto Sales. Wednesday afternoon, there were no customers parked out front.
With lots of questions and no answers, Joe's co-owners Matt Krier and Theresa Krier Fleck decided to take action. They created an online petition to the city.
"This is not only a headache, it is really a safety issue, and it is really, severely detrimental to the local businesses in the neighborhood," Fleck said.
"It affects all of us," Lopez said. "It's not something where it's just one business being affected. It's also families that are being affected who are wanting to get something out of this to sustain their families. With this being closed, we're not going anywhere like that."
The petition is just four paragraphs in all. It calls for "immediate action," reading in part, "We urge local authorities to prioritize and accelerate the completion of the Washington Street Bridge project."
"All the employees here have signed it," Lopez said.
Staff at Temple Rents have also signed the petition. The edge of construction falls right at their property line.
"Nobody being out here to do any work whatsoever, even demo work at this point, it's just frustrating," one employee said.
A spokesperson for the Indianapolis Department of Public Works said the historic, 100-year-old bridge is in worse condition than expected.
Now, the department says crews will need to take their time meeting certain regulations in the months to come.
However, 13News has asked for more details about the goals and timeline of the project. As of Wednesday afternoon, we have not heard back.
"We want to know why, and we want to have them prioritize building the bridge back," Fleck said.
"Transparency," Temple Rents staff said, "and better communication with businesses on this corridor."
"We would wish to have this finished as soon as possible," Lopez said.
Indy DPW says West Washington Street is expected to reopen in summer 2025.