INDIANAPOLIS — Some businesses just off Interstate 465 are feeling the impact of the closure of its southbound lanes on the east and southeast sides of Indianapolis.
INDOT says the closures are only for three weeks while work crews patch potholes and do bridge repairs.
Local businesses along Washington Street said the closures of on- and off-ramps to I-465 have led to some confusion for their customers.
Angel Tarver, with Jake's Fireworks, said customer traffic in the store has been slow since the I-465 closure, during what’s typically their busiest time of year.
“I’ve got people that drive near and far,” Tarver said of her customer base.
According to Tarver, she’s hearing from customers that the drive isn’t so easy right now because of the closure.
“They’re asking how to get here, how to get back here. How do they get on and off,” Tarver said.
“The evening at 6 o’clock or early in the morning have been hard to get to this location,” said Jimi Mayes, with Divers Supply Indy, which is just down the street from Jake’s Fireworks.
Mayes' customers are having a hard time, too.
“It’s taken most people abut 20 to 25 minutes longer to get here,” Mayes said.
That means late arrivals for evening scuba classes.
“It’s hard to get here by 6 o’clock because the traffic is so backlogged,” Mayes said.
INDOT says the work has a hard stop after 21 days, and crews are working around the clock to get the repairs done.
Tarver hopes that’s the case.
“I hope this doesn’t affect our sales or our business,” Tarver said.
Jake’s Fireworks just finished hundreds of thousands of dollars of store renovations — not to mention a little holiday coming up called the 4th of July.
“I need to get foot traffic so they can see some of these new products that we have in the store,” Tarver said.