Several Brick Township business owners say that construction work on the Midstreams Bridge is having a negative effect on their sales.

The Ocean County-owned bridge links two sections of Brick Township. The bridge was closed for repairs this past November. The project ran into delays when engineers found that the bridge was too unsafe to even keep one lane open to vehicles.

The owners say that the detours take potential customers down routes 88 and 70 miles away from their Princeton Avenue businesses.

“When it first closed, we were told it's going to be a couple months,” says Reel’s at Pier 281 restaurant owner Anthony Ingoglia. “In the beginning, they had it going both ways. They’d stop the traffic and let the traffic go, but that ended real quick."

The business owners say that the closures have caused them to lose anywhere from 15 to 60 percent of their profits.

“I’m not like the Wawa or 7-Eleven or Quick Chek,” says Princeton Deli owner Sonny Singh. “$400 means a lot to me.”

Township officials say that one lane of the bridge is scheduled to reopen later this week. The project should be completed by the fall.

But the owners say that they want officials to help them out so that they do not lose any more money.

“Anything will help. Just the acknowledgement that we are still here and open,” says Ingoglia. “It will probably create 50 percent more traffic going past the driveway. It will help in itself."

Brick Township Councilman Paul Mummolo says that he has been in contact with county engineers. He says that he is doing everything he can to keep the Princeton Avenue businesses updated on the progress.