SILVER SPRING, Md. — There is a call for more answers as the construction for the purple line in Montgomery County continues. Business owners who are in Silver Spring said the ongoing construction project, that has been extended several times, is costing them to lose customers.
In life there are always obstacles on the road ahead, but there are a lot more on Bonifant Street in Silver Spring.
"They put up signs and stuff that doesn't make it clear," Mandalay Restaurant Owner, Joe Myint said.
Myint said he has lost several customers, and had people cancel reservations after seeing the closures on the street where his restaurant, Mandalay, has been for 20 years.
The 16-mile purple line light rail project that would extend from Montgomery County to Prince George’s County, is already more than four years behind and almost $4 billion over budget by last account.
“How many days, how many years till they finish?" Kook Kai’s owner, Riley Wirachai said. He said he has also lost business due to the construction.
He isn’t the only one, several business owners on this block have the same question and are worried and concerned.
"[I’m] trying to hang in there yeah, because I want to reap some of the benefits," Ebony Barbers Unisex Co-Owner, Micheal Bailey said.
The construction closures and delays are often the topic of conversation in the shop.
"They spoke on it,” Bailey said. “It's a part of the barbershop's conversation."
He is just one of the five business owners that WUSA 9 has heard from about losing business because of all this.
"It's not attractive if you come down this street and you see all the cones blocking the street, nowhere to park," Bailey said.
"It's frustrating because sometimes even when we try to get in, they doing something," Myint said.
With every roadblock Myint has built a detour, for this problem he has decided to adjust his hours for dine-in and offer more take out order options.
"That's why I only kept take out on the weekend at nighttime because I don't want to disappoint," Myint said.
As the battle continues businesses here have worked extra hard to let people know they're still open.
"My [loyal] customers they're the ones that keep me going," Myint said.
WUSA 9 also reached out to city council members, MDOT and the Purple Line construction hotline about this issue that business owners are dealing with but we have not heard back yet.