The city of Denver calls it creating a "Better Broadway," but some of the businesses affected by the lengthy construction project are hoping to hang on long enough to see it finished.

"There's not a lot we can do right now. It's not something you can just wish away," said James Weeks, bartender at The Open Tap.

The South Broadway reconstruction project spans 17 blocks of Broadway south of Interstate 25 between Arizona Ave and Yale Ave. The road will be completely removed in three phases and will eventually be replaced with a new wider concrete surface; added raised medians; new lighting, drainage and utilities; new sidewalks and improved landscaping.

The many businesses, including the many antique stores that line the northern section of the project knew their sales would be affected when construction began, but for some the drop has been much more than planned.

“Last week was about 50 percent lower than what I’d like to see it, that’s significant right now. The recession is not over either so it feels like we're getting clobbered in lots of ways,” said Lisa Biro, owner of Capitol Tea.

"In the last few days it's been tough. It's hard for people to get in here. When they drive by it may look like we’re not even open but we are, we’re struggling to survive through all this," Biro said.

The first phase of construction has completely removed the east side of Broadway including all the street parking most customers use to access the businesses.

“Everyday I hear over and over from my customers, what’s going on? You really have to want to get here and they look a little ticked off when they walk in my door," said Biro.

Weeks said, “It’s just a pain to get here and the customers will go elsewhere because they like the convenience. And parking out front, since its non existent, they’ve been going elsewhere.”

Some of the businesses have reduced the hours they are open during the week and some said they are only opening on Saturday or by appointment. Some business said they wish they knew ahead of time how bad the construction would affect their business so they could have closed down for several weeks and took time off or a vacation.

Even with the frustrations with the current level of construction all the business owners say they are very excited to see the improvements and are anxious to see the finished product.

"This is going to be a major shopping area I think after its all done. We just have to last through the construction phase," Biro said.

You can read more about the project from the Denver Public Works website.