Small business owners near the intersection of Bloomingdale Avenue and Kings Avenue in eastern Hillsborough County say a major water main project has caused their sales to fall by as much as 60 percent, and they want relief before more damage is done.

The construction project involves a 26-mile water main, five feet wide, that will connect Tampa Bay Water’s facility on Falkenburg Road to a new plant in Balm and pass through 17 areas requiring tunnel construction. The work is being carried out by Garney Construction and is expected to be completed in 2028.

Karin Araya, who operates a food stand at the affected intersection, says the construction equipment has essentially blocked his business from street view. Araya says the signage directing customers to open businesses is inadequate, that the project is running longer than originally communicated, and that Kings Avenue has at times been entirely impassable to vehicles. At least one other business in the area also reported a 60% drop in sales and said it had been forced to lay off two employees.

Garney Construction spokesperson Sam Flowers said the company has taken numerous steps to reduce the impact, including signage, traffic pattern adjustments, and on-site community coordinators. Flowers acknowledged that total access cutoffs do occur at times but said they typically last less than 30 minutes.

Araya said he was originally told construction near his location would wrap up by March, but the timeline has since been pushed to June. The added foot traffic from construction workers eating nearby has not, according to the business owners, been enough to offset the losses.

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