A two-phase, months-long construction project has mixed reviews from local business owners.

Overall, the reaction to the completed construction work is positive. Most said it really needed to be done, but in the process some business owners, who didn't want to go on camera, said it cost them big dollars in revenue.

The first part of the project runs along Campbell Avenue, which is home to several businesses.

"I think in the long run it's going to be great, because now we've opened it up to trucks and semis and more traffic can come down through and a lot easier," Whitesides business manager Steve Ford said.

Ford was happy to see the change, which includes new curbing, drainage, sewer and waterlines, along with all-new sidewalks and gutters.

"Overall, I think the city's doing a heck of a job putting everything together," Ford said.

"[It will] be a racetrack now, but good for the community," Muffler House owner Terry Sisk.

"It was confusing," Reed’s Top Tech Auto Care owner Jim Reed said.

He said he lost business for at least a month or so.

"People couldn't get around it, and there were a lot of roads that were rough. Potholes, too, because of construction," Reed said.

"I guess when you grow with progress that's what you have to have," Ford said.

Cambridge Rent-A-Car owner Dusty Clewell said he opened the store's back lot for the neighboring ambulance service.

"We felt it was kind of important for them to get there quickly because if you're in need of an ambulance, you don't want to wait the 5 or 10 minutes for them to make their way around town," Clewell said.

He said the construction actually helped to bring in customers.

"It helped out business, because people come through and stopped to look at cars and stopped to talk on their way through," Clewell said.

"People had great stories on how they found us," Reed said.

"Hopefully, they pick it back up and double the business," Ford said.

The second half of the project is set to take place on Woodlawn Avenue this spring.