Businesses Owners Say I-74 Detour Is Hurting Their Bottom Line

(LE ROY)---People in Le Roy say a major crash nearby is costing their town business. A major truck accident shut down part of Interstate 74 last week and the detour is sending traffic south of I-74 into Heyworth and away from Le Roy, which is a busy interstate stop. Doug Monical owns a pizza shop in town and says he's one of many business owners desperate to get customers back after a detour literally drove them out. "Lunch time has been really hurt on us. Usually, we're pushing three to five hundred." Says Monical "And now we're sitting at one hundred to three hundred on a top day." And it isn't just there. The lunch crowd is also thinner at Woody's Truck Stop, which is usually a hot spot for Interstate traffic or truck drivers. "It is frustrating to see the whole stretch of highway to be closed down." Says Woody's manager Lia Dix. "And it completely affects us." Business has tailed off so much that employees at the truck stop have even had to put a sign up on one local road reminding customers where they are and how to get there. Initially I.D.O.T. said it could be 4-6 weeks before that stretch of I-74 is opened up again, but some neighbors in town said they heard it could be even sooner.