Saint-Henri's Notre-Dame St. reopens to traffic, to the delight of its merchants

After more than a year of construction work and headaches for its business owners and patronsthe stretch of Notre-Dame Street west of Atwater Avenue has reopened.

The Southwest borough spent $10.5 million to replace the aging pipe system beneath the street and in the redesigning of the sidewalks and road in the Saint-Henri neighbourhood.

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"It's open! It's over!" exclaimedAndy-Riwan Gernet, the communications coordinator for the business association for the area,Les Quartiers du Canal.

"It was hard for the merchants. They were really patient and courageous. But they also knew what was coming, what kind of street they would have in the end."

Throughout the work, businesses complained of its effect on their bottom line.

"Was business affected? Yes, dramatically there was a decrease in business," said Duane Slocombe, the co-owner ofRtisserie Sud-West Bar-B-Que.

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But he's happy with the end result.

"I think the street, they've done a fantastic job of doing it. There's actually a great, not even a modern look, but you can see that there is passion behind revitalizing this area."

Among the changes are new park benches and giant flower pots. The street itself was also widened.