West Ina Road at Interstate 10 is currently filled with construction equipment, detours and dirt. With the environmental assessment on the project stating Ina’s closure could be up to 24 months, many local business owners originally felt concern about traffic rerouting away from their storefronts. However, this does not seem to be the case.
“The loyalty of local shoppers has been fantastic,” said Julee Baxley, co-owner of Integrity Automotive. “People have found shortcuts and rerouted themselves. Businesses with good reputations and loyal customers have not been affected.”
Integrity Automotive is only a few blocks off the I-10, almost as close the Ina project as a company can get, and according to Baxley, has not seen a slowdown.
“Ina is not closed,” Baxley said.
For more businesses that are thriving during construction and how they accomplished that, please see the full article at the Marana News.
In preparation for the construction the Town of Marana created the Project Ina App, which provided project updates, maps of the project area, and allowed local businesses to promote specials or sales via their social media accounts.
The Town changed their sign code to allow for additional signage to be displayed during the construction, and these changes will benefit all businesses impacted by construction within the Town. They also placed signage around the area to remind people that those businesses were still open and what some of the business options were.
The Town also participated in a pair of business walks of the area with the Marana Chamber of Commerce to speak directly with local businesses to inform them of services available and to learn how the Town could better meet their needs during the construction.
