A $4.1 million road widening project that began in January of this year on Roop Street ended Thursday and was celebrated by Carson City officials, nearby residents and, of course, motorists.

A ribbon cutting ceremony at William and Corbett streets marked the occasion. The project — paid for with regional transportation and utility taxes — has been in the works for years, originally planned for construction in 2005 at a cost of around $7 million. However plans were temporarily shelved as the city assessed and paid for other pressing needs.

Supervisor Shelly Aldean commended everyone for their time and patience to see the project through, especially those merchants and residents along Corbett street. Both Aldean and Carson City Mayor Robert Crowell marked the occasion by announcing "Roop Street is now open!"

Carson City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ronni Hannaman was the first person by car to go through the project area.

While the primary improvement is the road having two through lanes in each direction, many additional improvements were made including:

— Traffic signal upgrades at William Street and Long street

— Sidewalk and bicycle lanes

— Bus stop improvements, including pull-outs and shelters near the library and community center. Also the parking lot at the library was reconstructed.

— Energy-efficient LED streetlights were added, some utility poles were removed and upgrades were made among numerous underground utility areas.

— Safety improvements were made at two previously hazardous locations – the intersections of North Roop Street, Washington and John streets.
— Long Street was reconstructed between North Roop and North Stewart street.

The JAC transit service will resume service on its regular published routes beginning Friday.