Concession Street reopens after nearly 9 months of construction

It was a hard eight and a half months. Not everyone survived it.

There were impassioned pleas. There were cheerful fronts. There were social media posts imploring people to shop on Concession Street.

But after months of construction, the street has opened to traffic again.

Since March, the shopping district has been blocked to vehicle traffic. Foot traffic dried up, profits vanished and some businesses closed.

It was "less than five," says Marty Schrieter, executive director of the Concession Street BIA. But they mattered.

Residents, shoppers and business owners attended the ribbon cutting Friday to celebrate the end of construction. It was a $10-million project that included major road, water and sidewalk construction. Crews finished it a month ahead of schedule.

The work saw about 15 blocks closed to traffic from Sam Lawrence Park to the Juravinski Hospital in various phases.

• Concession Street shops try to hold on through construction

"It's had its trials and tribulations, no question," said Tom Jackson, Ward 6 councillor.

"There were difficult moments throughout the ordeal, but the old saying of hopeful short-term gain for tremendous long-term gain is what we're dealing with."

Schrieter agrees that money dried up for a lot of businesses.

"For many members, it was tough. There's no question," he said. "I don't think that people anticipated the volume and restriction on customer traffic."

The project is a small taste of what businesses and residents on more than 10 kilometres of King Street will endure in 2019 when crews begin as much as five years of construction on Hamilton's light-rail transit line.

Jackson said he learned that the city needs to be upfront with King Street businesses about what to expect.

"The sooner we communicate along that corridor the possible impact, the better."

Jackson estimates that about 200 people were at the Friday morning ribbon cutting, which included speeches and cake.