May 26--RED LODGE -- Make no mistake, this popular resort community tucked beneath the Beartooth Mountains is open for business.

That's the word Mayor Brian Roat wants abundantly clear as travelers hit the road for the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer. The mayor's message also coincided with the scheduled opening of the Beartooth Pass. Thousands of travelers stop in Red Lodge before wending their way up one of the nation's most scenic highways and into Yellowstone National Park.

The community, which is in the midst of a $2.5 million water line replacement project, looks like a crazy quilt of detour signs, construction equipment and trenches. The project, designed to replace a 100-year-old leaking water line, started in late March and is expected to continue in the business district at least through mid-June.

The timing of the construction project has inconvenienced some business owners and angered others. They are concerned the unsightly mess and inconvenient detours will frustrate travels and take a bite out of summer tourism profits.

The lack of adequate signage has raised the ire of some merchants. Apparently signs were available but did not get erected.

"I'm not making excuses," Roat said. "It's just an oversight. Common sense, cooperation and understanding will go a long way."

All restaurants and hotels are open and the water supply is plentiful, Roat said. If construction poses an inconvenience in front of an establishment, most have a back door, he said. The goal was to get the project done before the tourist season kicked into high gear. The city did the best it could given winter conditions, he said.

"The fact remains, Red Lodge is open for business," Roat said.

To help alleviate some of the angst, Forest Sanderson, director of community development, said construction has been halted through the Memorial Day weekend and as much of the large and unsightly equipment has been moved off the community's main thoroughfare. Banners will be displayed to welcome visitors to town and the Montana Department of Transportation has been tapped to install an electronic reader board to broadcast the message that businesses are open and broadcast detours.

"We are doing everything we can to take the string out of this construction project this first big weekend of summer," Sanderson said. "The reality is that there is never a good time for construction."

Martha Young, owner of Cafe Regis, said there is a great deal of anxiety in the community due primarily to a lack of communication and follow through.

"The only time we have the opportunity to make money is in the summer," Young said. "Tourists might not come if they hear Red Lodge is all torn up."

Angela Beaumont, general manager of the Pollard Hotel on Broadway, is remaining optimistic, refusing to let the grumbling and naysayers get the better of her.

"The hotel is open and we're looking forward to a good summer," Beaumont said. "We've maintained a good attitude and hope the construction will be finished soon."

Construction has been underway for a month in front of the Sylvan Peak Mountain Shoppe on South Broadway. "There is some tension," said Marci Dye, owner. "I've had to back off and take some deep breaths. It is a project that must be done and now is a perfect time to do it."

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