Four years of a rough economy, combined with several months of road construction right outside their Taylorsville store persuaded Gary Riddle and family that it was finally time to shutter their Furniture Warehouse business.

"We are closing forever," said Chief Operating Officer Nicole Hilton, one of Riddle's five daughters.

The 36-year-old business branded itself in recent years with quirky television ads featuring Riddle and son Grant clowning in cowboy garb and touting their store locations on "Road Redwood."

In addition to its showroom at 5400 S. Redwood Road, Furniture Warehouse also operated an outlet store at 7144 S. Redwood Road in West Jordan. Prices have been slashed at both locations in an effort to clear out merchandise as quickly as possible.

"Furniture is a deferrable item and follows the housing market," Hilton said of the recession's effect on the Riddle business.

Through much of 2011, Utah Department of Transportation crews have worked on the nearby intersection at 5400 South and Redwood Road, installing a continuous-flow intersection (CFI) that has confused some drivers who are not used to navigating the new system. A drop in customer traffic has been "a consequence of progress," Hilton said.

"It's hard to get in the parking lot now," she added. "It was another nail in the coffin, and we had to make a decision on the future."

Although sad to say goodbye to customers and the family business, Hilton acknowledged that her father was eager to retire, and she and her five siblings are looking forward to the next chapters in their lives.

The hardest part, so far, has been the customers who come in and ask, "Are you really closing or just pretending," Hilton said.

As soon as they can clear out merchandise and tie up loose ends in the next several weeks, the Riddle family will turn off the Furniture Warehouse lights for the last time.

Taylorsville Mayor Russ Wall lamented the combined negative impacts of the struggling economy and road construction on area businesses, noting that others have gone by the wayside, including the Kmart at 5400 South and Bangerter Highway.

The continuous-flow intersection has stumped him a couple of times, Wall acknowledged. "They are inconvenient at first to learn, but they are safer and move more traffic."

There are nine such intersections in the Salt Lake Valley, said UDOT spokesman Adan Carrillo.

"They minimize our construction footprint and we don't have to take as many properties," Carrillo said.

Generally CFIs take one construction season — three to four months — to complete. But the work outside Furniture Warehouse dragged on longer because of right-of-way issues with some neighboring tenants.

"We had challenges in acquiring easements," Carrillo said. "Attorneys got involved and the process got delayed."

He projects that the new CFI at 5400 South and Redwood will help minimize congestion for the next 15 years to 20 years.

For the next few weeks Furniture Warehouse is offering discounts along with a coupon on its website, www.roadredwood.com, which drops prices even further.

"It's fun to pass on savings and go out in a bang," Hilton said. "I'm kind of psyched to get out of the furniture business, and we're leaving on our own terms."

cmckitrick@sltrib.com

Twitter: @catmck —

Shutting the doors

The "Road Redwood" Riddle family is leaving the furniture business and selling everything at its two locations, 5400 S. Redwood Road in Taylorsville and 7144 S. Redwood Road in West Jordan.

During the final weeks, store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday.

For more information and a discount coupon, log on to www.roadredwood.com.