Kenner - A business owner in Kenner is frustrated over delays in road work on W. Esplanade. Construction, he understands, was supposed to start in February, but it hasn't quite begun.
For Butch Geis, owner of Cop a Donut, the past three years have been a roller coaster.
"When we started up, business was great for the last two years," he said.
Sales though have dropped. So when he heard a crossover was in the works nearby on West Esplanade, excitement grew.
"Once we have a U-turn right in front of us, it's easier to get access to this shopping center," he said.
However, work has been at a standstill, leaving some to question why things are at a halt.
"They came out and started it, surveyed it, brought the bulldozers out and sat there for two days and packed up everything and left," he said. "It's supposed to have started back in February and here we are in July."
Kenner Mayor, Ben Zahn, understands the frustration and says putting a road on a canal though is easier said than done. With changes to plans and other things, work he says has slowed.
"We're trying to get it done, sometimes there are delays," Zahn said. "When you go over a canal you have issues because you have a family who own all the canal bottoms so there are legal problems we have to address."
The project, behind schedule, could finish in about a year, which is why Zahn is asking for patience.
"We didn't promise anything to those tenants when they decided to do their lease," he said. "We want the crossover as much as they do because the more business they get the more sales tax we get."
Geis though just wants it done.
"We'd like to see the road construction started and hurry up and finish it so we can get our customers back so they don't have to drive down to Williams and make that U-turn back," he said.
As the job moves forward, he hopes people will continue to stop by, because his shop and others are open for business.
Zahn says this project, which is entirely funded for, was first brought up about a year and a half to two years ago. He adds despite the delay, officials have made great progress with it, and once done it'll help with more business and with the flow of traffic.