FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — It will be a summer of construction and road closures in downtown Fond du Lac, but as Phase 2 of the Main Street Remodel Project begins, businesses are happy to still see success.
- The Main Street Remodel Project began in Downtown Fond du Lac in April and is expected to end in September.
- Phase 2 of the project begins this week, with the section of Main Street from Court Street to Western Avenue.
- Main Street businesses are happy to report no major loss to business because of the construction.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for web)
As construction crews drill into Fond du Lac’s Main Street, Monica Lara drills jewelry in her shop, Argentum et Aurum.
“I make the jewelry from recycled gold and silver,” she says.
She’s owned a shop on Main Street Fond du Lac for four years.
“It's nice because people come downtown and just sort of wander from shop to shop,” she says.
So this summer’s Main Street construction raised some questions.
“First reaction was don’t panic, but just try to find out how long it would take, what they were going to do… how it would affect our businesses,” she says. “Are people going to be able to still come park, walk?”
So far, she says, it hasn’t stopped customers.
“I guess people here are just used to dealing with stuff, like they really come through,” she says.
Watch the full broadcast story here:
The Main Street Remodel includes water main replacements and curb repairs.
Phase 1 began in April, and Phase 2, which started this week, is scheduled to finish early September.
The section of Court Street to Western Avenue will be closed starting Wednesday.
“It is disruptive to business, though the crew has been great,” Amy Krupp, executive director of the Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership says.
The construction has forced Gallery and Frame Shop to work a bit differently this summer.
“If they can’t get to us, they just tell us where they are, where they’re parked, and then we’ll just run the item right out to them,” Julie Balson, owner of the shop, says. “But for the most part our business was as usual.”
The Downtown Fond du Lac Partnership is trying to help the businesses thrive this summer.
“We try to encourage people to still come out,” Krupp says. “We’re trying to have fun with it, we filmed some reels and some Tik Toks and we have fun yard signs.”
An effort that has not gone unnoticed by Lara and Balson.
“It is a community thing, I think,” Lara says. “I don’t think anybody really freaked out or started belly aching or moaning, it was all like dust your boots off, what are we going to do.”
