Business Owner Says Motorists Confused By Construction Signs

LEE COUNTY, MISS. (WCBI) – A small business owner in Lee County is letting potential customers know she and others in the Skyline area are open.   The furniture store owner says many people mistakenly believe the highway in front of her business is not accessible and she wants people to know the road to her business is clear.

Jennifer Stringer spends a lot of the time on the phone, letting people know the portion of Highway 178 in front of her business is not shut down.

In February, heavy rains caused a landslide along a portion of Highway 178 and also caused a water main leak in the same area.  A section of the roadway collapsed and since then Highway 178 between 371 and Tree Top Lane has been closed.  Signs went up immediately, warning motorists that the road was closed, four miles from the actual site.

” As soon as the sign went up immediately our traffic flow coming into this area dropped at least 50 percent for sure, ” Stringer said.

Stringer is owner of Homespace Discount Furnishings and says other business owners in the Skyline Community have also heard from people who think a larger part of Highway 178 is closed.

“The signage says no traffic four miles ahead but they’re misinterpreting at that point, making a quick decision, when you’re driving you have to pay attention to steering wheel, and the red light,” she said.

The road is closed 1500 feet from the landslide. But a contract has been approved for repair work and crews with Century Construction will work around the clock until it’s fixed.

“Bad news for us is we missed tax season, so our business was affected for that reason, graduation is coming up, people thinking about vacation time, so they’re not really concerned with buying furniture right now I don’t think,” Stringer said.

Stringer says she doesn’t fault MDOT or anyone for the confusion over the signage, she just wants people to know the road to her business is open.

Stringer opened Homespace Discount Furnishings last May