Drivers in Granger found themselves having to find a new route to work Monday morning.

The much anticipated railroad construction on State Road 23 near the Princess Way intersection started at 7 a.m.

Bruce Bender crosses the tracks daily to get to his work, but Monday morning he had to find a different route. Bender says, "A friend of mine called and told me it was closed down this morning, so I took a different route." While Bender was prepared, not everyone was.

Matous Prady says he saw road signs prior to the shutdown, but didn't realize he would not be able to get through on Monday. "I did see some yesterday because I work over the weekend, but I was hoping I could still get through," says Prady.

For Phillips 66 assistant manager Flo Szymborski this shutdown is nothing new. Szymborski says, "It's not the first time they've shut down the railroad tracks. They did it back in the 90s, now that was a nightmare. I only had one person come in who asked us directions on how to get to the post office. Other than that I believe people of Granger were prepared for the shutdown this time."

Employees at one business say their regulars have already made plans around the closure. Some say if they can't drive across the tracks, they'll walk across to get their lunch.

Szymborski says they reminded their customers last week about the shutdown to help prepare them. Despite the road signs and reminders, some drivers still found themselves turning around.

"I've seen a lot of cars turn around. I've had employees from where we work call in and tell us they're going to be late," says Bender.

Some businesses are offering incentives to draw traffic to the area. Between the Buns is offering a coupon that is good during construction only at the State Road 23 located. The BP gas station on 23 and Princess Way says it will periodically slash gas prices a couple days for a short period time.

Emergency personnel have prepared for the road closure too. Assistant Fire Chief for Clay Fire John Vance says they have three alternate routes in place.They've also communicated with three other departments who can help with backup.

He says the challenge would be if there's a fire in the Princess Way area next to the tracks. It may take 30 seconds to a minute longer to receive backup help if there is an emergency.

"We will see some changes in backup time but for initial response in all areas Harris Township, Granger and Clay, the initial response should be the same," says Vance.

The territory cutoff line for the stations runs along the track so there are stations on both sides responsible for either area.

Written By: Lindsey Sablan www.fox28.com