Concrete Barrier Hurting Businesses

Grande Ronde- "ODOT, tell down this wall" reads the marquis outside the Fort Hill Restaurant on Highway 18. A concrete barrier now sits in front of the three small businesses that depend on the thousands of cars headed to the Oregon coast. One business- a gas station/convenience store shut its doors for good this week and the restaurant's owner tells KOIN Local 6 that they may be forced to do the same. The wall is supposed to keep traffic flowing on this busy stretch of highway just east of Spirit Mountain Casino, but the business owners' say the barrier makes it even more dangerous with driver's slowing down trying to get to the businesses. ODOT says the business owners knew about this plan and that it has been in the works for more than a decade. Business owners were hoping for some sort of access.