HONOLULU (KHON2) -- Due to rail construction, businesses along Dillingham Boulevard have had no 'left-turns in'. HART officials confirm this is a permanent change, surprising many we spoke to.
"That's a surprise," said Kevin Young, owner of Egghead Cafe. "Have no idea. Never heard of this before."
"Right now, everybody's making adjustments, finding ways to get to us," said Jennifer Rafael, manager at Ace Auto Glass.
Bascially, the big posts that support the rail system will block the roads, only allowing left-turns at stoplights.
"You don't have no left-turn and have no place for U-turn, how people gonna come here?" asked Young.
In a statement, HART said it began informing businesses of the changes in October 2022, saying it reached out to 200 businesses directly and gave updates during business and community meetings.
HART also added the left-turn restriction was put in for safety purposes, and allowing left-turns would likely result in more congestion.
It's caused a major drop for businesses.
"They (customers) don't have enough time to even grab and go," said Young. "They might (get) stuck in traffic for 30 minutes, they cannot make it back to work so they avoid coming into Dillingham."
"They have that idea in their heads that it's traffic because there's only one lane on each side, so they go to the other locations," said Rafael.
"Now we open it up to catering," said Young. "We cater to offices, and for parties we deliver the food out. Instead of waiting for customers to come in, we have to find other ways to survive the business."
The next segment of the rail construction project runs along Dillingham from Middle Street to South Street. Construction is scheduled to start next year and be completed in 2030.
"It just seems like its been like this for years," said Rafael. "I'm getting used to it. I don't want to, but I'm so used to it."
"We hope this gonna end soon," said Young.