SUGAR HOUSE, Utah — If you've driven south along 2100 South in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, you're no stranger to the hassle of reconstruction that's been around the last couple of years.
But all that changed Thursday, as the road finally reopened.
“2100 South has never, ever been better,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
Sugar House road construction mostly ends (finally) to delight of many
The news was celebrated by residents, drivers and local business owners who suffered during the project due to loss of traffic along the roadway.
“The end of construction in Sugar House on 1100 East and 2100 South, it’s completely open there, there are no cones out there anymore,” said Emily Potts, owner of Sugarhouse Coffee.
Potts shared how this project has taken its toll on her shop.
"Financially, we used all of our savings," she explained. "Emotionally, there were lots of tears, lots of hard days, lots of just showing up. Begging the community, getting on social media, begging people to come and support us."
Potts did her best to prepare for any roadblocks that would pop up.
“People would completely want to avoid Sugar House it was hard. There were days when we would not have customers for hours and that’s hard when we’re used to a hustle and bustle in a coffee shop,” she said.
Salt Lake Brewing Company Corner Club were in the same lane.
“I’ll say it was brutal. It was worse than any expectation that we had," said owner Rick Seven. "In the restaurant business you need to have customers, when the customers drop their wages drop. And so, it’s been really frustrating,”
Seven shared how the 2100 South reconstruction project felt never-ending at times.
"It’s been a long battle. We kept thinking okay, a couple more months. One more year, one more year,” he said.
What hurt even more, was seeing their next-door neighbors who lost it all.
"The Locker Room and Sugar House Barbecue were probably the two closest to my heart ones that closed,” said Potts.
But others, like Cannella's Italian Restaurant were able to make a comeback.
The reconstruction replaced more than 7,000 feet of pipes and enhanced safety.
"It was building safer pedestrian infrastructure, better access to transit, better access to our businesses,” said Mayor Mendenhall.
Now the task is getting the message out so that traffic, both automobile and pedestrian, returns.
“We’re actually open," said Potts. "It’s easy to walk, easy to drive, lots of easy parking and walking to all of the businesses."
