Now that the roundabout at the intersection of Main/Short and 395 is open, it appears to the casual passerby that it’s business-as-usual for several  nearby businesses. This begs the question: “How did it impact our local businesses?”

Driving through the temporary revision where Main and Short enters/exits Highway 395 clearly showed that the regular route to the Deer Park Animal Medical Center was closed. In asking a source close to the business, I learned how proactive they were with this construction. Customers received emails with instructions on how to access the business, the website hosted photos and directions, and customers received reminder telephone calls with the instructions shared again. Most of their customers navigated the temporary route without issue and arrived on time.

We asked Rozy of Rozy’z Hot Shotz if she and her business noticed a difference at all; she answered that for the most part, it was the usual summertime crowds. She added that there were days when potential customers were not willing to leave the highway or give up their place in line to enter the highway, and those mornings did feel slower than normal. In general, however, customers still made time to make Rozy’z part of their morning routine.

Both businesses shared that the paving days, July 12th and 13th, were the toughest to work around, but that the construction crew worked like a well-oiled machine to get it done as quickly as possible. And now with the roundabout open for traffic, the crew at Deer Park Animal Medical Center hopes to see fewer accidents and near-misses, and hopes that the rules of navigating the roundabout help to keep our community and its visitors safe while entering and exiting the highway.