According to exasperated business owners in Woodbury, when Jericho Turnpike is under construction, the difference between a free-flowing thoroughfare and a nightmarish traffic standstill is quite literally night and day.

That is why merchants along Route 25, stretching from South Woods Road to the Woodbury Commons shopping center, have been pleading for evening construction ever since a road improvement project commenced late last summer, blocking many consumers from gaining easy access to their stores and restaurants. Late into the project, they may finally get their wish, but only if the State Department of Transportation remains steadfast in making this request to the construction company doing the job.

Although the roadwork taking place was considered necessary for safety purposes, the project has been so lengthy - some say dragged out needlessly - that business owners are feeling the toll. The project has taken so long because it involves many different tasks, including repaving roads, adding a left-turn-only lane at the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Piquets Lane, installing new lights and inserting a new traffic control system. Plus, it's all being done when the road is at its busiest.

For about three-quarters of a year, Woodbury merchants, including owners of many mom and pop stores, have suffered financial setbacks because heavy construction and bumper-to-bumper traffic taking place during prime business hours have blocked off or concealed entrances for passing motorists, and have intimidated regular shoppers into patronizing merchants elsewhere.

Among the frustrated are the shopkeepers of the rustic Country Square shopping center, where old farming equipment hangs from the ceiling of Van Sise Farms, which sells fruit, meat and assorted groceries.

"It's hurting businesses because the people can't come in and out," complained Van Sise Farms manager Sonny Buonocore.

"Not only is it stopping customers, it's even stopping trucks and keeping us from getting deliveries...How the heck are they supposed to use the driveways when they got the lanes closed off here?" said store employee Luke Mazzilli.

Mazzilli said that he has monitored the construction, only at times to find "one guy directing traffic, while eight other guys are just doing nothing." Other shopkeepers have similar gripes about the lack of work being done.

Store employees are even finding it difficult to get to work in the first place because of the transit tie-ups. "It can be 20 minutes from [Route] 135 to here on any day," said one merchant who did not want to be named.

"When people get off 135, it's nothing but brake lights," concurred Ben's Kosher Deli dining room supervisor Jeff Mascaro.

Although the businesses did not want to quantify their losses in revenue in exact numbers, some merchants estimated that they have lost up to half of their typical daily sales.

"A lot of people want to avoid the traffic on Jericho Turnpike and are taking a detour, [so] a lot of people are not driving by," said Steve Robey, assistant manager of the colorful Imaginarium toy store.

Many merchants noted how expeditious the recent nighttime LIE construction has been. Robey doesn't understand why the state doesn't do the same with the Route 25 project. "They finish off a whole lot of the LIE in one night. All they have to do is close off one section a night and, boom, they're finished," he said.

Last year, a petition for nighttime construction was passed from store to store along the east-west route, accruing signatures from the majority of shopkeepers. Merchants also contacted most of their local representatives on the state and county levels.

No part of this effort proved immediately fruitful, but Chris, a project inspector who asked that only his first name be printed, said that stores should not suffer much longer because the project is slated to be completed in mid-June. However, some shopkeepers are convinced that the timetable will actually expand to the end of summer.

Furthermore, there is one major part of the Jericho Turnpike overhaul that has yet to even begin - the total repaving of the road. This will require construction workers to actually shut down as much as one whole side of Route 25 at a time, meaning businesses to the north and south will experience days of zero accessibility along the major roadway. Those days could be devastating to the local merchants.

Therefore, even with the project nearing completion, merchants are adhering to the stance that the rest of the project should take place at night. "The very least they could do is do the paving part of the construction project at night," said the petition organizer.

As of late Tuesday, it appears as if the State DOT will oblige. According to inspector Chris, "The state came up with the idea to do it at night, and I think that the constructors will go for it...Chances are 90 percent that we will do it at night."

"Otherwise, it would be time-consuming and annoying for the community," he continued.

It is possible that consistent pressure from the Woodbury merchants, coupled with recent intervention by local county legislator Judy Jacobs, has persuaded transportation officials to rethink the project. However, it will be up to the Woodbury business owners to ensure that the 90 percent chance becomes a 100 percent certainty.

Chris acknowledged that business owners "have a reason to complain," but added that, once completed, "the improvements will pay back at some point."

A call was placed to the State DOT, but no one was available to speak with the Tribune.