Preston Street has been the heart of Ottawa's Italian community for generations.
But construction has turned the thoroughfare into what resembles a war zone, with business owners wondering how long the disruptions will last.
"The sales are down and that hurts," said Joe Calabro, who has operated Pasticceria Gelateria Italiana since 1979.
The $24-million project to replace 100-year-old sewers began in June and is expected to last until June 2010.
"We went to the city and we said, 'look that will kill us, we need this done in two'," said Lori Mellor, executive director of the Preston Street Business Improvement Area.
"Our sewer is one of the prime offenders so we're saying, 'let's get it done, let's stop the impact on the river, and please give our businesses a break'.
"Our patrons just get fed up with the detours changing all the time, the difficulty in getting into our businesses, that they just go elsewhere, so business is down."
A June 2009 target would cost the City of Ottawa an additional five to seven million dollars.
Area businesses hoped for additional on-street parking to make Preston Street easier to visit. It hasn't happened, and business is down. As well, Calabro fears his taxes will increase after the work finishes.
Don Lind has lived there for 30 years and has never seen a similar disruption; his closest neighbour is a backhoe.
It's noisy and dusty now...but Lind says it's better than a flooded basement.
"I know people are crying about (how) it's noisy and this and that, but it's gotta be done," Lind said.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Jonathan Rotondo
