The construction is finally complete, but the nightmare is not over for some businesses along University Avenue in City Heights. For nearly three years, the outside of their stores and offices have been inundated with orange barrels, heavy equipment and dust as the City of San Diego spent $13.2 m illion in safety improvements, including landscaping and roundabouts to slow down traffic. The work took almost twice as long as expected, and according to an amended lawsuit, most of the delay was caused by San Diego Gas and Electric ignoring requests to identify the location of an underground vault. The lawsuit claims SDGE’s actions created a “public nuisance” caused by negligence. The construction began in May of 2023, and wrapped up in early 2026, but by then, the owner of  Supermercardo Murphy’s says his customers had moved on. Ron Kassab has owned the City Heights mercado for 22 years. He said before the construction project began, his business was strong and the flow of customers was steady. When the project dragged on and it became nearly impossible to find a parking place and a path inside, his business suffered.  Kassab said he lost a third of his business and the losses continue to climb because the shoppers have found new places to buy their groceries. “We’re not the same as before,” said Brenda Lino Rojas, a store manager.  She told NBC 7 that at one point most of the employees were convinced the store would close permanently because there were no customers to take care of. Kassab said he employs about 45 people who all live in the area.  He does not want them to go without a paycheck, but he also has rent to pay. Without customers, he has to take money from his other businesses to keep the grocery store afloat. “They literally destroyed our business,” said Kassab, who added that the roundabouts that were installed are also costing him money because 18-wheelers can’t maneuver them to make deliveries.  “They cannot make a left turn. They cannot make a right turn even if they come from Orange Avenue. There’s no way they can make that turn so the deliveries are costing us a little bit more.” NBC 7 reached out to other businesses in the area that say although their business is starting to improve now that the orange cones are gone, they’re still struggling. “It’s kind of like starting all over again,” said Uriel Salfaco, who manages the Sampah Barber Shop. Kassab’s lawsuit is seeking a  minimum of $2 million for loss of business and access. NBC 7 reached out to both the City Attorney’s office and SDGE for comment on the lawsuit.  Neither responded in time for this report. ...read more read less