Vehicles are rolling from one end of Hutchinson to the other again on State Highway 7. Except for a few finishing touches, a two-year, $30 million reconstruction of the major east-west artery is completed.

Barricades went down Friday afternoon, Sept. 28, a few hours after about 100 people attended a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony on the highway in front of Jay Malone Motors.

Those who addressed the gathering followed up on Mayor Steve Cook’s comment that a project such as Highway 7 “doesn’t happen without the cooperation of a lot of people.” He cited the Minnesota Department of Transportation, area legislators, contractor C. S. McCrossan and city staff for working to together.

“This is for the present, but it is as much about for the future,” Cook added.

Business owners who had to put up with several months of work over two years in front of their stores were applauded by McCrossan spokesman Manny Walk.

“We can’t forget the hard work and sacrifice coming from our business owners and their resilience in keeping their businesses open during a difficult time,” added Bill Corby, president of the Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce, Convention and Visitors Bureau.

A few finishing touches remain. Sod has been laid this year, but the rest of the landscaping will be done next spring. Work on the city’s pedestrian underpass west of School Road is continuing under a separate contract, while work begins this week on the replacement of the Crow River dam. The dam also is a separate contract, but was timed to follow the nearby work on highways 7 and 15.

(Terry Davis is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at davis@hutchinsonleader.com [2].)