Maine Street businesses and tri-state commuters celebrate Memorial Bridge opening

QUINCY (WGEM) - For the first time since April, two lanes of traffic are coming into Quincy from Missouri. Downtown Quincy’s Memorial Bridge re-opened Tuesday morning after six months of work on the $7 million-plus project.

Rexx Battery is on Maine Street where traffic flows into town offthe Memorial Bridge. The business attracts drivers who are coming to get new car batteries installed, and owner Mark Kelly has heard many of his customers’ opinions over the months the bridge was closed.

“We had a couple customers come in saying they wish the bridge would be a little smoother than it was, but I guess it’s some joints from section to section were pretty rough, so we’ve had a couple complaints,” Kelly said.

Kelly said 40% of his customers come in through Missouri which helps drive his business. He said he enjoyed solid sales even during the closure.

“The bridge repair has brought us quite a bit of business as the workers are coming in and buying products from us,” Kelly said.

Other businesses on Maine Street were negatively impacted from the closure, saying it hurt their profits.

Second String Music Co-Owner Rodney Hart said his store was one of those businesses.

“Since they closed the bridge, it affected us over the summer and it affected us with sales,” Hart said. “It affected us a few years ago when they did it. So it’s a lot easier for our customers that are coming over from that side of the river to get to our business.”

Hart is now optimistic his store will have a good Christmas. He said he already noticed an increase of customers Tuesday morning who were coming into Quincy from Memorial Bridge and passing his business.

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