Transportation and Weather Woes Hit Georgia Small Businesses Hard

Date: April 18, 2017

Some Georgia small businesses are facing an uphill climb after unexpected hardship this spring.

First, the transportation crisis surrounding I-85’s recent fire and bridge collapse has wreaked havoc on the area. In addition to spurring what could be months of traffic problems, it has also put small businesses in jeopardy.

WSB-TV talked with several small business owners who are located just steps from the site of the collapse, and road closures are preventing customers from driving or walking to their locations. Other businesses, such as Johnny’s Pizza on Cheshire Bridge and other restaurants with food delivery services, are facing tremendous difficulty getting their product to customers.

Tom Smith, an assistant finance professor with the Goizueta Business School, told “Closer Look,” “You’ve got lots of little restaurants and shops… lots of people who have establishments a couple 100 yards to a couple miles from where the actual bridge collapse was. All of those businesses are really going to have a headache. If you’re hoping people are going to be driving by, and police are [rerouting] traffic, that’s not going to help you at all.”

Meanwhile, an unexpected freeze that hit Georgia and South Carolina in mid-March has wiped out much of the peach and blueberry crops. The Associated Press reports that about 85 percent of South Carolina’s peach crop is gone, and 80 percent of south Georgia’s blueberry crop is gone. These two major crop losses could result in losses of $1 billion.

This is especially devastating for Georgia farmers, as the state was ready to be the largest blueberry-producing state in 2017. Other crops were affected in Georgia as well, including peaches, strawberries, watermelons, peppers, and other tabletop vegetables.

“As a farmer myself, the turmoil these folks are experiencing is gut-wrenching,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom McCall in a press release after he recently surveyed the damage with Commissioner Gary W. Black. “Our job now is to listen and support these farmers as a united Legislature.”

 

Related Content: Small Business News | Economy | Georgia

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