Bypassing Blue Grass: Will businesses suffer?

No one is quite sure why the stretch of U.S. Highway 61 west of Blue Grass became so deadly in the last year.

Most people are sure, though, that the Highway 61 bypass now under construction will make a lot of people a lot safer in and around the small Scott County town.

Besides improved safety will the bypass bring other benefits for Blue Grass?

That depends on your perspective.

For people who have lived along Mayne Street, Blue Grass, (Highway 61) for their entire lives, the comparative silence could be deafening, at first.

Ever increasing truck traffic through town over the years hasn't done much for restful sleep, but the bypass should route most of that truck traffic around town.

While traffic difficulties will be eased by the bypass, fewer drivers passing through town could wreak havoc on businesses that depend on those drivers.

Some business people are taking a wait-and-see attitude before they make future plans.

"The Blue Grass Conoco will just stay put and see what happens," said Marty Meyer. "We'd ideally like to move out onto the new road, but it takes a lot of money."

Mr. Meyer, who oversees stores and operations for Meyer Oil Co., which owns the Blue Grass service station, said only about 10 percent of the station's business is through traffic, because it is not a convenience store.

"If business drops way off, we'll have to look at closing, but we're the only ones in town with diesel fuel, and lots of our trade is from local businesses," said Mr. Meyer.

At least one of the two convenience stores in Blue Grass plans to stay.

"Any convenience store that isn't located on an interstate highway needs a neighborhood to support it," said Sandy Griffith, manager of the Blue Grass Jiffy. "Most of our business is from local people, and the area has built up something terrific in the last two years.

"And the big trucks don't stop here, anyway, because there's no place for them to park," Ms. Griffith said.

Her attitude is shared by most owners and managers of businesses along Mayne Street, who said they will survive the expected small drop in clientele.

For some, though, the decreasing traffic will spell the end.

"We'll be out of business," said Dick Gray, owner of Gray's Auto Sales, which has offered a selection of used cars on the west end of Blue Grass for about 22 years.

"We'll keep it going for a while, but 61 was so heavily travelled, now it'll be empty. I expect I'll become semi-retired," said Mr. Gray.

Jeff's Market, Blue Grass's grocery store, depends almost entirely on townspeople for its business, so it sees the new traffic pattern as progress.

"Jeff's is all for getting the bypass done as soon as possible," said Bryan Thoma, manager of Jeff's Market.

"It will give people easier access to our parking lot. I've seen lots of close calls that could have turned out tragically, and we've lost at least three customers already," said Mr. Thoma, who has managed Jeff's for about five years.

"If I lose 10 percent of my business, but my employees and customers are safer," Mr. Thoma said, "that's fine with me."