Time is money. For business owners in Whitewater, the extension of the East Milwaukee Street project was a tiresome affair. “For big projects like this I understand things happen, but it’s still frustrating,” Jene Mills said. Mills, owner of Mills Automotive, has been located on East Milwaukee Street since 2000, and she says her business dipped almost 30 percent over the summer, as a result of the construction.

As the winter season ends, construction season begins in Whitewater. Renovations on the $2.4 million Milwaukee Street project have already begun, and two more projects on Prince Street and Prairie Street...