An Ocean County antique shop owner says that an ongoing construction project is forcing her to close the business.

The shop is located on Main Street in Toms River, close to where a long-term construction project is going on at the intersection of routes 166 and 37. The project began in 2016 and is scheduled to last until 2019.

Melody Tektas says that her antique and consignment business won’t survive another month due to the traffic buildup and construction detours. She also says that her driveway was blocked for a time while crews installed new pipe.

Tektas provided News 12 New Jersey with financial records that show that her sales fell more than 50 percent from summer 2014, when there was no construction, until this summer, during construction.

A spokesperson from the New Jersey Department of Transportation says that crews do as much work as possible at night to minimize disruption to traffic, residents and businesses. But the spokesperson says that some work has to be done during the day for safety reasons. 

Legally, construction is non-compensatory in New Jersey.

Tektas says that she barely survived Superstorm Sandy, and will fight to stay open this time around as well.