Some business owners in Toms River say that an ongoing road construction project is hurting their bottom lines.

Crews have been working on a stretch of road near the intersection of Route 37 and Route 166 in Toms River for more than a year. Business owners tell News 12 New Jersey that the project has made it hard for customers to get into the parking lots due to traffic congestion and construction crews.

The owner of an antique shop in the area told News 12 last summer that business was down nearly 40 percent since the project began. The owner of a luncheonette says that she had to stay closed for three days this week due to the construction.

“The scheduling of this seems to be something wrong here,” says attorney Jay Curry, who has a law office in the area. “I know the county is not responsible for this. They contacted the state and said ‘We want this over with.’ It’s going to be a real problem this summer.”

The New Jersey Department of Transportation says that while they try to do the work only at night, safety reasons sometimes mean they must perform the work during the day. They say that they try to keep business interference to a minimum.