Troy businesses frustrated with road closures due to construction: "This is going to affect us"

There is frustration among some residents and businesses in Troy, Michigan, as additional construction is making it a headache to reach some locations.

On Tuesday, the city announced that the intersection of eastbound and westbound Long Lake at Rochester Road will be closed for three weeks, and the businesses on Long Lake said they learned of the closure just hours before construction began.

"When I saw it, I probably had a freak out," said Kathleen Morgan, co-owner of Gilly's Ice Cream.

Morgan said she was scrolling Facebook on Tuesday when she came across a post from the city that the intersection would be closed for three weeks beginning on Wednesday.

"I was like 'Oh my gosh, this is going to affect us,'" said Morgan.

Morgan said the city never notified her or her landlord about the construction, which will directly impact her business during the ice cream shop's busiest season.

"We did a little tour of the plaza to see who knew and who didn't, and everyone was kind of in the same boat," she said.

She said she understands the city needs to complete road construction, but she wishes she had known about the road closure in advance, so her business would have had time to prepare in case customers decided not to take a 10-plus-minute detour to reach her shop.

"We have an ice cream cart, we have a catering business, please engage us in your graduation parties. Things that would really help us to drive our business in a different way," said Morgan.

Other tenants at Long Lake Plaza, like the manager at the Honey Baked Ham Company, are echoing Morgan's frustration. 

"Just came out of the blue, I found out yesterday that it was going to happen, and it's happening today," said Grant Vandekerkhoff, store manager of The Honey Baked Ham Company. 

Morgan said that after she posted to Facebook about her frustration with the road work, she received some positive responses from customers.

"And immediately we had people saying we'd ride our bikes, we'd walk, and I had a few moments where I was almost overcome with emotion because people were so wonderful about it," she said.

CBS Detroit has reached out to the city of Troy to confirm if Tuesday's social media post was the first time it notified the public or these businesses on Long Lake about this road closure. We're awaiting a response.