After months of inconvenience and delays, Olive Chapel Road in Apex was open to rush hour traffic on  Monday. Drivers were able to get between Ashley Downs Drive and Patterson Grove Road in one lane in each direction.

That stretch of Olive Chapel Road had been closed since August after heavy rainfall caused a metal drainpipe to collapse.

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The road was expected to reopen Feb. 12, according to  Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert, but a water line was struck during final construction work, pushing the opening to Monday.  

"When I got the call about Thursday, I really thought it was a joke," Gilbert told WRAL News on Sunday.

As of Sunday afternoon, Olive Chapel Road had partially reopened, with cones creating lanes for drivers to pass through an area that was once fully blocked off. Before all lanes are open, crews with the North Carolina Department of Transportation have to finish one last strip of pavement.

WRAL News asked the mayor if there is any concern about another culvert in the failure in the future. 

"Our staff, our engineers, we will ensure that we work closely with NCDOT and do some monetary evaluation, not only for that culvert, but all around our town to make sure that infrastructure is sound," Gilbert said.

The reopening is a big deal not just for people who live or commute in the area but also for the people who work along the route. James Bryan, who lives off of Olive Chapel Road, said the closure created quite a few disruptions to daily life. 

"The buses are delayed because they have to now go all the way around to pick up and drop off the kids," Bryan said.

Now, he's looking forward to a shorter commute.

"We're a little bit disappointed that it didn't happen last week, but hey, things happen nature, so you just got to roll with it."

When the road collapsed on Aug. 6, the NCDOT initially projected it to be ready to reopen in November. After several delays, a contract was finally awarded for construction.

Crews had to replace pipes and hired a contractor to build a new culvert, a project estimated to cost more than $2 million.

In January, months into the closure, Gilbert said businesses in the area were hurting, commenting that one business reported a 56% decline in revenue.

The NCDOT said a temporary, quick fix wasn’t possible because a failed culvert had to be replaced and a waterline that carries Beaver Creek underneath Olive Chapel Road had to be relocated.

The mayor has kept the public updated throughout the lengthy process. The project was delayed at points, notably due to frigid temperatures and the January ice storm.