SAN MARCOS, Texas — It's been close to a year and a half, but a fairly major stretch of road is back open in San Marcos.
There were noises that haden't been heard for a while.
"Today we're talking about our road, CM Allen, finally being open," said an employee at Top Image Hair Salon in San Marcos.
"About time," added her co-worker. "If these weren't established businesses already, they would have gone under."
Almost a year and a half after construction started, the road is finally back open – welcome changes to those who work along it.
"It was just rough, so now that it's here, it's so much better for a business – walk-ins are going to be more common," said the employee.
The project had goals to allow bikers, people walking and cars better access along the road. But the expected completion date was back in the summer.
"It's been in construction for quite a while, and it's now open," said Greg Schwarts, the senior project engineer for the city.
Schwartz said when they tore up the road, they realized the sewer needed to be repaired as well. That led to the delays.
"We've honestly taken a lot of heat for that," he said. "It's six months beyond when we said we were going to be done, but I think the staff at least wanted to make sure we got in here once and did it right and we're not back several years late."
That extra work also caused the project to go over budget by more than half a million dollars, from $2.7 million to $3.3 million. But if you ask those that work there, they're just happy it's done.
"Luckily it didn't affect our business all that much," one business owner said. "And now we have this beautiful place to look at."
Small things will still need to be done to the road, but it is open and overall is what the completed project will be.
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