The first section of West Lafayette's State Street overhaul has reopened on schedule.
Cars had begun going back up Chauncey Hill from River Road to University Street on the Purdue campus by early evening Sunday.
Earlier in the summer, heavy rains had threatened the timetable for the road's reintroduction to public life, but construction firm Rieth Reilly had removed all its equipment from the main thoroughfare's open section Sunday.
That paves the way for a party of sorts Monday, as Purdue students begin returning to campus in larger numbers for the fall semester. From about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, City of West Lafayette staff plan to line the street as a de facto welcome committee, waving to students and parents and helping navigate all the new traffic patterns.
The next section of the road, from University Street west to McCormick Road, is slated to reopen in November.
Construction crews must also finish a half-done roundabout at the intersection with Tapawingo Drive.
