LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Two weeks into the Louisville Water project along River Road and business owners aren't happy.

A detour sign is up at U.S. Hwy 42 and Lime Kiln Road, but work on River Road that far east isn't supposed to start until March 2026. Business owners said the signs are misleading and causing them to lose business.

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A detour sign is up at 42 and Lime Kiln Road but work on River Road this far east isn't supposed to start until next March. (WDRB photo)

In phases, Louisville Water is replacing a residual water line from the water tower to its treatment plant in Prospect.

The first phase where work is being done is happening between Zorn Avenue and Blankenbaker Lane.

Brent George owns Cunningham's Creekside 8 miles east of there.

Work isn't expected to start near his business for another year, but he said he's already losing customers.

"We've been impacted in a negative way," George said.

He said signs in areas where no work is being done is misleading to drivers.

"I'm trying to figure out why there would be a detour at this point in time," George said. "There's no construction going on at all."

"We're all open for business, and it's a much shorter distance just to go come your natural traffic pattern," he said.

And they're not just worried about the locals.

With less than six weeks until Derby, the Kentucky Restaurant Association is thinking about the hundreds of thousands of visitors who they believe will simply turn around.

"We'll have people that aren't familiar with these roads, and they're going to see these signs and maybe change their behavior or question their destination," said Stacy Roof with KRA.

"We don't want that. We don't want these restaurants to suffer," Roof said.

The Louisville Water Company provided the following statement:

"Louisville Water continues to balance investments in critical infrastructure for high-quality drinking water with the needs of homeowners, restaurants and businesses, and drivers along River Road.

Like many of you, Louisville Water proudly supports local businesses. We’ve emphasized the importance for the community to continue supporting their favorite places in that area or make this their opportunity to try a new one.

In addition to large digital signs alerting drivers of road closures and detours, we have added our own signage to remind people that businesses, restaurants, and parks are open via local access routes. As construction progresses and these routes change, Louisville Water is working as quickly as possible to update signs to help direct drivers.

We understand that two years of rolling road closures is not ideal, and we are working with our contractor to expedite that timeline if we can do so safely and efficiently."

It's unclear if there will be signs added to the areas where work isn't happening.

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