The owner of Milkwood Bakery in Berry’s main street said his takings had dropped by around 10 per cent since the bypass opened a month ago.

The losses had been mainly in the early morning – which he expected – and the late afternoon – which came as a surprise.

Despite this, Mr Hilkemeijer is very much a supporter of the bypass and the changes it has brought to Berry.

“It’s lovely, it’s much calmer, it feels much safer,” Mr Hilkemeijer said.

“Berry has grown a lot so there’s still a lot of local traffic but all that heavy traffic off the road has made an enormous impact to the overall calmness of the main street.”

Mr Hilkemeijer had been running the bakery for six years so he was quite familiar with what was “quite a dangerous little main street”.

“Most traffic and all large traffic heading up and down the coast came through Berry, so it was hectic to say the least,” he said.

“Especially in the last three or four years, it got incredibly busy – and every day, not just weekends.

“That’s what’s really changed in the last three or four years. There was traffic backed up coming into Berry even during the week.”

READ MORE: See the grand opening of the Berry bypass

The changes have also been noticed by the Berry Chamber of Commerce president Anthony Houghton.

He said Berry has been “fantastic” since the bypass opened; it was quite a novelty to go out for dinner in the main street and not hear the rumble of traffic outside.

“On the weekend what’s changed is the through traffic isn't coming through any more,” Mr Houghton said.

“So the town is still really busy but there’s not traffic trying to ram up and down the main street.

“People used to complain that it was really hard to get into a restaurant or to find a parking spot because there were so many trucks passing through, but now it’s opened up the town dramatically to both locals and tourists alike.”

Construction of two new roundabouts as part of the bypass is continuing and work should be completed in two months.

A Roads and Maritime Services spokeswoman said around 14,000 vehicles a day drove through Berry prior to the bypass. New traffic data will be collected once all work is finished.