The opening of the new Jefferson Park Avenue bridge has been 18 months in the making. On Saturday, hundreds came out to celebrate for a ribbon cutting to mark the milestone.
Although the official opening of the bridge is on September 24, Saturday was a symbolic celebration of how even when circumstances aren't convenient, a community still manages to work together.
For the last 18 months, the sights and sounds of construction took over the JPA bridge. But Saturday marked the beginning of the end.
Roderic Scott, who lives near the bridge said, "I had to totally avoid it because everything was cut off because it made it truly inconvenient to drive around, which is way out of the way."
People who live in the Fry's Spring neighborhood say they are looking forward to simply having access that most people take for granted. Getting to houses or businesses less than a mile away often meant taking detours on side streets.
"It's been not very good for the traffic particularly on our block because they've been using our street as a detour. So I'm happy for the bridge to open to get the traffic off of the residential street and back onto the main road," said Monique Harold, who also lives near the bridge.
But there are some who are looking forward to more traffic, particularly businesses. Construction took its toll on revenue for several Wayside shops, prompting help from Charlottesville's cash mob for an economic boost.
Charlottesville Mayor Satyendra Huja said, "We've tried to help them the best we could, but I hope they will recover in this time after the construction is complete."
Saturday's festivities were not just about celebrating construction, but more how a community pulled together to make its reopening possible.
