Friday’s news that the state Transportation Department will create a temporary exit for Bemus Point’s central business district while work continues on the Veterans’ Memorial Bridge over I-86 is good news for business owners.

Drivers have had to go around to Exit 10 with the closure of Exit 9. What happened too often is people used to taking Exit 9 didn’t realize they needed to go to Exit 10 and instead ended up at Strunk Road in Jamestown or in Maple Springs before they realized they had missed Bemus Point. The situation was alright for locals, but nearly unmanageable for tourists coming from other states.

The move comes with the summer season more than half over, meaning that some businesses have taken a real hit for the 2025 season. It would have been better for everyone if there had simply been a temporary Exit 9 so that familiar traffic patterns coming into the village had been preserved.

Give credit to Bemus Point businesses – including Tammy Shack, owner of the Bridgeview One Stop, and the Bemus Point Business Association – as well as state, county and village officials who have spent the past few months lobbying for the restoration of an exit coming off the bridge for convincing the DOT that the added expense of a temporary exit is a necessary cost to help preserve business in the village.

It’s the second time in recent weeks the state DOT has rearranged schedules or taken on added expense to remedy major local issues. While East Second Street paving work happened later than originally scheduled, the finished patch job on Second Street was just as important for businesses and pedestrians as the temporary Exit 9 construction is for Bemus Point.

In our opinion it took too much time to convince the DOT that the local work was absolutely necessary for drivers and businesses – but at least DOT officials came around. It’s better late than never when it comes to these two road projects.