| By Big Radio News Staff |

A state lawmaker says she’s hearing that a full tear up to rebuild a 2-mile run of Janesville’s Center Avenue has come as a grind for some businesses along the south side’s main commercial corridor.

State Assembly Rep. Sue Conley spoke to Big Radio during a visit to the corridor Thursday alongside Governor Tony Evers.

The Democrat Conley says the impact of the tear-up has been hit-and-miss. She says a coffee shop near on a stretch of Center Ave that’s stripped to gravel is still seeing plenty of neighborhood foot traffic.

But she says a gas station on the same stretch has lost 60% of its foot traffic. And a motel along the spur had its entry completely blocked for days.

Conley says the state Department of Transportation has boosted crews on water main work to speed up the project on the front end. She says the DOT has set out signs that no longer just read: “Road Closed.”

Some signs now read: “Businesses Open.”

Governor Evers was on the Center Avenue corridor touting his roads plan. He says he’s boosted shared revenue to cities, a move that could allow for more road fixes or greater flexibility in how cities schedule roadwork.

Evers tells WCLO he knows of no new legislation in the pipeline that would add funding or programs for businesses as they weather tear ups to major commercial corridors like Center Avenue. But he says the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation offers help to businesses affected by road work.

And the Wisconsin DOT’s assistant deputy director, Joel Nilsestuen, tells WCLO that the DOT’s “In This Together” program offers resources businesses can tap to deal with the challenges road work brings.

Parts of the Center Avenue project run through 2025, but project managers have planned to start repaving some stretches of the corridor by July. That could return some portions of the south side’s main business spur to least a single lane of through traffic.