VILLAGE OF WILLIAMSVILE, N.Y. — It's been an up and down year for Jackie Lennert, who owns Rove: Jewelry, Accessories and Gifts on Main Street in the Village of Williamsville.

"I saw a nice steady increase in foot traffic in May and some increase in June with the opportunity to grow the business as I am new to this location since October," said Lennert.

But in July, that all changed thanks to the Village's Picture Main Street project.     

"Once July hit and the construction got further down the road, it greatly started to affect the foot traffic and making the store hard to reach," said Lennert.

She says potential customers could not get in the store due to the torn-up sidewalk. As a result, her business dropped by 50 percent.

"There were times when the driveways weren't even accessible to get the cars in for people to come in to through the back way," said Lennert.

"Granted there's headaches but as I've been saying, this is part of our beautiful transition and when it's done it's gonna be great," said Dan DeLano, mayor of the Village of Williamsville.  

He understands some of the frustration with the project. He says DOT officials did reach out to the business association and provide weekly updates about the progress of the project.

DeLano says they've tried to minimize the traffic by having lane restrictions in place from 9 a.m.  to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday during the non-rush hour times, and work is suspended on weekends. 

"It's really been no surprises. There's been a couple of snags here and there, utility work and what not, but for the most part we're on schedule," said DeLano.

DeLano says milling and paving is scheduled to begin in September. Work on the $3.1 million project is scheduled to be completed by October 30.

In the meantime, Lennert says the DOT did put a plank in front of her entrance to make it easier for customers to get in and out of her store. She's just hoping it'll be enough to keep her business afloat.

 "I'm going to give it my best effort," said Lennert.