Ask any business, and they’ll tell you there’s nothing smooth about the U.S. Highway 190 project in Mandeville, even with all of the newly laid black asphalt.

That’s soon to change, officials said, with the help of much needed advertising.

It’s been a rocky go ever since the $23 million improvement project began in 2006.

Mounds of dirt like these being used in the U.S. Highway 190 project in Mandeville have been wreaking havoc on local businesses. (Staff Photo by Chad Ruiz)

Cones taking commuters on a zigzag ride, mountainous heaps of dirt, debris and heavy machinery have turned the busy throughway into a snarled bottleneck.

That cataclysm of construction has resulted in at least one business closing and dozens others suffering.

That, plus the many unforeseen setbacks pushing the completion date further and further away ,has caused sales to plummet.

“Some of them have gotten second mortgages on their homes to survive,” City Councilman Jerry Coogan said.

Giovanni Vancheri, owner of Gio’s Villa Vancheris, said his sales have dropped 60 percent since the construction began. He also cited several others along the corridor who’ve also experienced significant losses. At Vancheri’s own restaurant, volume has dipped so low he no longer opens for lunch. “Some of those businesses have been there for 30 years. These are fixtures in the city of Mandeville and the landscaping, and I don’t want to lose it,” Coogan said.

To prevent that from happening, Coogan and other City Council members are prepared to take dire measures.

Once the construction is complete, forecasted for December, Coogan has proposed to advertise the completion of the project and promote the businesses in and around U.S. 190 using temporary signs.

That’s only the beginning. Mayor Pro Tem Trilby Lenfant along with Councilman Jeff Bernard are taking it a step further.

The two have been discussing a possible marketing campaign for the entire Mandeville area that will promote all of the locally-owned businesses.

“We definitely have to do something to help our businesses on 190 but also the locally owned businesses in other areas of the city that are feeling the effects of the economy,” Lenfant said.

In the long haul, the local economy will benefit from the new five-lane highway with turning lane, officials said, but many businesses are barely breaking even now, and officials like Mayor Eddie Price are worried there won’t be many retailers left if the construction doesn’t wrap up soon.

The completion deadline has been rescheduled several times because of poor foundation beneath the existing highway, officials from the Department of Transportation and Development said. Construction crews had to add more base material to support the new road.

Tumultuous weather has also wreaked havoc on the project.