Merchants complain the widening project is making it difficult for customers to get to their establishments, potentially costing them money if patrons go somewhere more accessible. They contend the Utah Department of Transportation has done little, if anything, to help them.

"We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get customers into our store, and in a short amount of time, they turn away and go somewhere else," said Randy Park of Park's Sportsman.

A UDOT representative said the state has tried to balance the needs of businesses with construction efforts, adding that businesses need to cooperate now on things such as marketing.

"It is a balancing act and it is painful," acknowledged UDOT spokesman Geoff Dupaix. "But the work still has to be done."

Four months ago, UDOT began expanding 800 North from 400 West through 1000 East. The $60 million project will provide three lanes in each direction on the road linking Provo Canyon to Interstate 15. The median also will be raised. Work is expected to be completed next fall. But Park said a plethora of orange cones and restricted lanes make it difficult for people to get into area businesses. While his business is 1 1/2 blocks south of the construction zone, it is close enough that potential customers have a hard time getting in.

Park said UDOT has put up signs urging people to take alternate routes into the construction zone but has done little more, such as providing access to stores in the construction zones or pointing out alternate routes.

John Chatterton of Electrical Wholesale Supply is worried customers may go elsewhere.

"If it takes them an hour to get a $10 part, I can't blame them," Chatterton said. To keep customers, Chatterton purchased a delivery truck.

UDOT's Dupaix said the agency is limited in what it can do, noting the state does not have the budget to launch marketing campaigns to attract buyers to the area.

He said road builders tried to allow people to make left turns in the construction zone, but that impeded traffic as well as construction. As for working more hours, Dupaix said the project was not bid as an around-the-clock job, and to do that would have cost more money.

In the 1990s, when Orem's State Street was under construction, merchants there formed a partnership with the city and UDOT to ensure people knew businesses were open and how to access them.

Dupaix said UDOT would meet with business owners again to discuss issues.

dmeyers@sltrib.com