Road work on Cerrillos Road that tied up traffic for months led to large losses in sales for many businesses along the route. Some business owners said they were forced to lay off workers because sales fell so much.

In addition to that, the project is not completely done — workers will return in the spring to complete "some time-sensitive work," said Joyce Bond, city public information officer.

Bond said a gas-line relocation was mainly responsible for the delay in the project.

As for the possibility of fines for the contractor for not finishing on time, "city staff is currently discussing ... contractual issues with AUI Inc., the contractor on the project," Bond said. "To date, a final outcome has yet to be determined."

One of those Cerrillos Road businesses that lost money was Tortilla Flats, a Northern New Mexican restaurant owned by restaurateur Dean Alexis.

"The work on Cerrillos Road led to a great deal of avoidance" by customers, he said. "It also tied up traffic for 10 plus minutes."

Alexis said losses for his business amounted to "easily 10 percent of sales" for the six months it took to complete the construction work in front of his restaurant.

The effect of the work wasn't limited to Cerrillos Road, as drivers took to residential streets to avoid the other main thoroughfares that were especially busy during the construction, Alexis said.

Another problem was that workers on the project showed "no real urgency to complete the project," Alexis said.

Another Cerrillos Road restaurant, Denny's, experienced a 5 to 6 percent drop in sales at the beginning of the project, manager Kris Kimmell said. "And we had complaints from customers who had trouble getting access to the business."

Kimmell also said that road workers "had no time frame at all" when the road work was supposed to finish. Denny's did not have to lay off anyone because of the loss of business, Kimmell said.

Eddie Vickery at Pep Boys Automotive said work on the project's sewer line was the worst part of the project because it left Pep Boys with no entrance at all to the business.

"It was very confusing," he said.

El Companario restaurant "lost a lot of business" during the construction, an employee said.

"People had problems," the worker said. "There was too much waiting. It was too much trouble for people to come in and park. It was a mess for us."

Liquor Barn also took a hit, with sales off at least 15 percent, store manager Hector Veleta said. "For a few days there, we were completely blocked off."

As a result of the loss of business, "we cut a few people's hours," Veleta said. "And we changed one guy to part time."

Veleta added: "We're happy to see it done. A lot of customers are, too."

Jackalope took what owner Darby McQuade said was a "big hit" because of the roadwork, losing an estimated $500,000 in sales.

On top of that, "We had to lay off quite a number of people," McQuade said. "It was not just due to the road. But between the road and the economy, it was pretty bad."

Those who kept their jobs "are all working hard to keep the business going," McQuade said. "I'm very grateful for that."

McQuade said the business has also benefited from the managerial skills of his son, Brooks McQuade, and his nephew Joe McQuade.

Richard Meltz, owner of Centaur Cycles, was outside this year's construction work and didn't suffer like he did in 2008, when the first phase of the road construction took place.

"That was a strong year for us, and a lot of people wanted to buy a scooter," he said. "But once the construction work started, I nearly lost my business. We were right smack in the middle of construction."

Rick C de Baca of Big Jo True Value Hardware on Siler Road said the road work hurt sales. In addition, "we noticed a decline in walk-in traffic," he said. "We hope the worst is over. We are thankful to our clients. They weathered the traffic."

C de Baca is still concerned about the right turn from Cerrillos Road onto Siler, which has been reduced to one lane. "It's going to back traffic up," he said.

The next phase of Cerrillos Road improvement project, called IIC, from Camino Carlos Rey to St. Michael's Drive, has no official start date, Bond said.