While the development of the U.S. 29 interchange in Gainesville is designed to be a net-positive for both commuters and business owners, the sectioning off John Marshall Highway from Lee Highway has made it more difficult for customers to find some businesses.

One reason is that since the cul-de-sac’s completion in the last month, there are no signs advertising the existing businesses at the end of John Marshall Highway that are no longer accessible from U.S. 29.

Plans to turn John Marshall Highway into a cul-de-sac near Gallerher Road have been in the works for years. The Times reported it would happen as far back as July 2008 and VDOT officials met with scores of business owners during the last few years to discuss upcoming changes and acquire right-of-way property.

However, VDOT did not buy out every business near the corridor, just the ones directly in the way of planned road expansion. Such examples include a gas station and 7-11 convenience store developers removed on the west side of the road closest to the Gallerher intersection.

According to Supervisor John Stirrup (R-Gainesville), construction at the interchange is scheduled to wrap up by the fourth quarter of 2014.

"That's a relatively conservative estimate," said Stirrup. "Should the construction season not be impacted with (significantly) bad weather in the next three years or so... they might be able to advance that a few months."

One of the chief developments will be a bridge connecting Gallerher Road and Linton Hall Road over U.S. 29, essentially serving as an overpass.

When asked what the affected business owners on John Marshall Highway should do to mitigate their short term problems, Stirrup replied, "Well, in the short term, I think they need to outreach certainly to their customer base and let them know that there is going to be a disturbance or a change in the way they typically reach the property."

Stirrup said he’s waiting to hear back from VDOT about what type of signage would be allowed along U.S. 29 that could alert commuters to the existence of the businesses still stationed at the end of John Marshall Highway.

He added that VDOT officials are "very cognizant of the issues of those businesses and I'm very convinced that they are trying to make the impact as minimal as possible."

Mahmood "Moe" Ahmed owns Joe's Pizza and Italian Restaurant at 14085 John Marshall Highway. It's the last, one-story building next to two "Road Closed" reflector-tinged warning signs weighed down by sand bags at the end of the road that used to connect all the way to U.S. 29. They block off the rubble mounds and bulldozers stationed in an otherwise barren lot that formerly featured asphalt, a shed for Joe’s and sign for the restaurant.

"They only took what they needed to build the overpass," said Josie Russo, who runs Giuseppe’s Ristorante Italiano in Haymarket with her husband. He is the name sake of Joe’s and still owns the physical building though he no longer runs the business there. That’s Ahmed’s venture, something he began after working with Joe from 1994 until he took over in 2006.

At 7:50 Monday night, Ahmed joined his wife and three children in the main dining hall closest to the store's entrance. From the back tables against the green wall, the neon yellow and white "Virginia Gateway" sign from an office building across the street

Ahmed, still wearing a white apron with a white Joe’s T-shirt underneath, walked toward the 10 tables in the back dining hall, pulled out a chair and sat down for an interview.

He talked about how when the gas station and 7-11 closed, his walk-up business dropped by thousands of dollars a month. The road closure has cost him even more cash. He is not in position to sell the building and move because he rents the building; he doesn’t own it.

"You see, no customers here," Ahmed said. "8 o’clock."

Over the next hour, one other person would walk through the front door. At 8:28 p.m., Kevin Smith entered the front door and after a quick stop to the men's room, turned the corner and walked to the counter.

"How do I get here?" Smith asked Ahmed, his voice raised in bewilderment, as he explained how he cut through a nearby parking lot to find Joe's.

Smith wasn't just an out-of-towner who took a dinner-time detour to the closest restaurant off of I-66. He's from Gainesville. He used to coach baseball at Stonewall Jackson High School. The area is home.

"This is my place!" said Smith of Joe's. "I live right down the street!"

To enter Joe's and the string of other commercial businesses near by, commuters heading southbound on U.S. 29 from I-66 must turn right onto Gallerher Road, pass the car wash and hotel on the right -- there is no direct entrance to those either from Gallerher or U.S. 29 -- and turn right on what used to be marked as John Marshall Highway. It's about a quarter-mile drive to the end where the Road Closed signs stand. All the businesses are on the right hand side of the road.

Turn around and head back toward Gallerher, and the road bends to the left directly in front of another road closure sign. That threw off Smith as he attempted to figure out, under the night sky, how to properly exit the property.

Ahmed runs Joe’s on the cheap. The only days he said he has taken off from work are holidays. His family helps out, which keeps costs down. No vacations, no personal leaves of absence; it’s a seven day-a-week job.

"I’ve worked straight four years," said Ahmed,

On the green walls, black and white photos of old structures in Gainesville and Haymarket hang. The ceiling’s just low enough so that someone 6-feet tall can touch the textured paint abrasions with an upward finger poke. Green and red vinyl cloths dawn the tables in the front, which is more brightly lit than the back dining hall.

His school-age daughters sat at an extended table in the front hall, books opened and pens moving as they finished up homework. It’s not like they would be a distraction to anyone or have problems finding room to work.

Ahmed talked about one of his business neighbors trying to secure a permit to put up three signs along U.S. 29 and Gallerher that would alert everyone of the entrance ways.

But until something changes, Ahmed doesn’t expect the seats to start swelling with customers.

"I am not making money," said Ahmed. "I am losing money."