Buffalo Gap Road construction causes headache for businesses, customers. When will it end?
Construction on Buffalo Gap Road over the last two years has hurt Adrian Lopez's restaurant business.
He has had to lay off employees from Oscar's Mexican Restaurant #2 due to the shortage of customers.
"It is a good thing to get a new road, but right now, everybody's unhappy," Lopez, owner of the restaurant at 5125 Buffalo Gap Road, said.
The Texas Department of Transportation deemed the Buffalo Gap road construction a top priority years before it began. As Abilene's population has increased in recent years, so have the city's road traffic and accidents as well.
Construction began in 2022 and is expected to continue until June 2024. Businesses close to the active construction zone are feeling the effects of the construction, the increase in traffic and difficulty navigating Buffalo Gap Road.
At Jack and Jill Donuts, employee Angela Gann summed it up simply.
"We're slow just like everybody else on Buffalo Gap," Gann said.
'Almost failed'
Ji Ni has owned Little Ninja for years, but his business has also suffered due to the ongoing construction.
Ni worries, he said, because the restaurant "almost failed." He blames the construction on Buffalo Gap Road for the restaurant not making any money last year. It simply broke even.
Ni also said his sales are on average 25% down. He hoped the construction could be completed soon. Regardless of the construction and his declining sales, he still has to pay the rent.
Ni said his business has suffered due to the road traffic slowed-down by congestion. He said many southside residents find it especially difficult during the late afternoon rush hour to get to the restaurant.
Even if customers can get to his restaurant in the shopping complex behind Starbuck's, they have difficulty turning back onto Buffalo Gap Road afterward, he said.
Ni's biggest complaint is that business owners have not had updates about the construction and when it will end.
He was hopeful, however, that customers would come back and support his business that "has been here so many years," so he can avoid having to shut down completely, he said.
Will it end on time in June?
TxDOT identified FM 89 — Buffalo Gap Road — as "a top priority transportation project candidate" in 2015 after seeing Abilene's expansion over the past several years with significant increases to traffic and congestion, according to the department.
As a result, TxDOT decided to alleviate the problem by expanding the road with construction beginning in January 2022. According to the TxDOT website, the construction is expected be done in June 2024.
TxDOT officials hope this project will alleviate congestion, control drainage and better accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists.
While deemed beneficial for Abilene, the massive project also came with a big price tag. The estimated cost is $13.5 million — with "right-of-way and utilities cost to be determined."
The Reporter-News repeatedly reached out to TxDOT last week for a comment on the progress of the project and if it is still scheduled to end in June. The state agency did not respond.
'Business is down 60%'
Because of the layoffs at Oscar's, Lopez must be the chef, the server, the cleaner and just about everything else at the restaurant.
Before construction began, the Mexican restaurant boasted a staff of 20-24 people at any given time. Now, he runs the restaurant with a bare-bones staff of six.
"The construction kills not only the business, but the employees," Lopez said, referring to having to let staff go because the number of customers sank.
Lopez hopes he can avoid closure in the future.
"Business is down 60%," he said.
With sadness across his face, Lopez said he is living his dream, cooking with his heart and hoping not to close.
He begged patrons to come back to Oscar's #2 and support local businesses such as his — "a small restaurant with a big heart," he said.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Buffalo Gap Road construction causes headache for businesses
