GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — It took eight months of patience, bumper-to-bumper traffic and constant detours, but the construction on Cesar E. Chavez Avenue is finally complete.
The long wait was paid off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly finished project.
On hand were business owners, engineers, city officials and more to commemorate the newly completed stretch between Clyde Park Avenue and Hall Street.
Business owners like Ivette Reyes spoke with FOX 17 about the excitement of the project being done.
"Oh, my God. I was so excited," Reyes said. "Because I was waiting here for eight long months, waiting to see what's gonna happen. But at the end of the day, we got an awesome opening."
That excitement comes for more reasons than one, with Reyes experiencing some of the slowest days in her 35 years of owning M&M Bakery.
“But some of the days I was completely done,” said Reyes. “The cash register is zero, with four employees there."
Other business owners felt those same issues.
"We suffered for more than eight months," said Rosalia Rivera, owner of D'Rosy Salon. "Something would always happen all the time with the project."
Officials with the city heard the cries from the business and understand their frustrations.
“We realize, you know, construction is always going to be somewhat disruptive to businesses," said Drew Robbins, commissioner for the city of Grand Rapids. "Our goal as a city is always to just minimize that and make sure businesses feel like they have the resources they need.”
That same sentiment was felt by Mayor Bliss, who says the work that went into this project will be more than worth it.
"You're going to see larger sidewalks, you're going to see greenery. you're going to see more right away," said Mayor Bliss. "The street itself encourages people to slow down a little bit, hopefully slow down and linger more in this neighborhood, and get out to support these businesses.”
But in the end the businesses are more than excited to get back to normal.
”Oh, yes, it's going to be great," said Reyes. "Awesome for the community, now it's open; now we invite northwest Michigan to see our business and share in our business.”
City officials urge the community to exercise caution while coming through the area until they’re more familiar with some of the new features.
Engineers with the city also announced additional finish work along this stretch will continue over the next two weeks, which may prompt occasional lane closures and/or shifts.
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