LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — There is no doubt dealing with road construction is a pain, but for some it doesn’t just affect their commute, but also their livelihood.
That is the case for Paul Imoberstag, who opened his CBD business two years ago, building most of his clientele from The Villages.
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But now when he should be hitting his stride, he is struggling to keep his business open.
Imoberstag told Channel 9, “It’s just at this point, it’s driven our business to the point of hopefully not going out of business. reason why is because our foot traffic is dropped by at least 70%.”
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A road project along State Road 301 has brought barricades, sand piles and heavy machinery right in front of his business, making it hard for some of his customers to find it.
One of his customers said, “It was worse today that it had been before, it’s a little tricky, but we managed.”
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Imoberstag said his compliant has gone nowhere, “I put an official complaint into FDOT and I was contacted by an engineer on the project. and that’s when he told me it could be several months, and they’ve run into a few other problems that could actually extend into the possibly the summer. and for Central Florida… in particular, this area, this is our high season. and so, you know, we need this this season to survive.”
Paul understands that the project needs to be done but would like a little more consideration from the state.
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“We’ve gotten very little guidance as far as what they’re doing, or how long the project will last and so we just kind of feel helpless at this point of what to really do. If there’s anything that can be done just to help us remedy the entranceway at least.so it’s more accessible and not quite so dangerous to people,” Imoberstag added.
But now a month later, no signage directing people to the turn in and now their equipment is blocking one of his only two driveways.
Eyewitness News reached out to the Florida Department of Transportation and on Friday, the sent WFTV the following statement: “We do strive to always work with businesses and residents impacted by our projects. I understand from our team that we are installing business entrance signs, and that we went by today and let a staff member know the contractor is working on that as a priority. If you’d like, we can let you know once they’ve been installed.”
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