Businesses on a stretch of East Wisconsin Avenue above the Milwaukee River are beginning to recover from the downtown construction that put a crimp in their flow of customers this summer.

The major phase of the construction entailed fixing sidewalks and improving lighting. It was in its second phase this summer and stretched from the Milwaukee River to Milwaukee Street. This phase began in April.

The Quiznos Subs restaurant located at 233 E. Wisconsin Ave. was disturbed by the construction, which was recently completed in that area, for almost two months this summer.

"Our business was cut in half," said owner P.M. Patel. "There's been a little bit of an increase, but it's tough to bring customers back."

Patel said he is running a sandwich special at his store — $2 off for any combination meal — in hopes of restoring his business to its pre-construction level.

Besides taking a financial hit, some of the windows in Patel's store were broken by the construction, he said.

Keith Pajot, owner of Downtown Books, 327 E. Wisconsin Ave., said business for him was down 20 percent over the entire summer.

"We weren't as hurt as some of the other businesses, like the 311 Restaurant, the tanning salon and the hairdresser, but the construction didn't help us either," Pajot said.

Pajot and Patel both attended a Sept. 14 forum to air their complaints. Fourth District Alderman Bob Bauman, whose district includes the affected businesses, pushed for a specific finish date.

Bauman "is chair of the Public Works committee and this is in his district, so he was very concerned with why the construction was taking so long," said Mike Welsh-Phillips, legislative assistant to Bauman.

The construction also affected students who run downtown.

"Last year it bothered me more," said Heidi Sund, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences. "As long as you stay on the other side of the street it's fine, otherwise you have to cross Wisconsin Avenue a few times."

Becky Kanitz, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, jogs regularly and has had a few problems with the downtown construction.

"Sometimes during rush hour it gets busy and I get held up," she said. "At other times it's OK, but when I'm running during rush hour I change my route to run up Wisconsin by O'Donnell."

Cecilia Gilbert, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Works, said the downtown construction was part of the streetscape program aimed to beautify Wisconsin Avenue.

"It was the result of a study for Wisconsin Avenue to look more prominent and street friendly," Gilbert said.

The project was plagued with multiple delays due to unanticipated problems encountered during construction, she said.

"The biggest delay occurred when contractors began tearing up the sidewalk and discovered it was hollow," Gilbert said. "They had to go in, remove stuff and then fill it back up."

The construction was to make Wisconsin Avenue more uniform and make that stretch of road look like a "proper" downtown street, Gilbert said.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 18, 2005.