The main highway between Nelson and Blenheim has re-opened after major flood damage closed it nearly two weeks ago.
Drivers had to take a seven-hour detour while State Highway 6 was closed.
As the first truck passes through, it’s a moment to celebrate.
People were so excited they arrived at the Nelson roadblock at 9am on Wednesday - four hours before the highway opened.
Truck driver John Barton arrived early "to get in front of the queue and save going round".
"We will get home sooner anyway by doing this route," he said.
SH 6 has been closed between Nelson and Blenheim for nearly two weeks after four days of heavy rain washed out huge chunks of the road.
Bringing down mud and trees and creating new obstacles, it's been a gigantic job to re-open.
Waka Kotahi systems manager Andrew James told Newshub it's been a big job for those involved.
"We have had big 40-tonne trucks big diggers there, a lot of asphalt has gone done as well."
The alternative route from Nelson to Blenheim is a seven-hour detour through the Lewis Pass.
It's a major challenge for businesses like Quay Connect, where their drivers usually do 20 return trips a day, carting empty wine bottles to Marlborough and bringing them back full for export.
Quay Connect's general manager Jaron McLeod said it has taken drivers far longer to do the trips.
"It's about a five-times longer trip going the Lewis Pass way to State Highway 6, so it's about five times the cost."
McLeod said it's been taking trucks nearly nine hours to do the trips.
"Most of our drivers have been tapping out at their 70 hours a week which is all they can do so they are tired at the end of the week."
Although the road is open now, much more work is needed to fully fix it, so it'll be closing in future for some significant repairs.
"We've got sites that are going to need a bit more care and attention. We need to take some time to design those up, get ourselves resourced up and then we will have to some further closures," James said.
This was evident on Wednesday with bits of the road still missing and several one-way sections.
Although that isn't dampening the excitement with people saying they are "pretty excited" and "it's pretty huge".
Great for a region that’s still picking up the pieces.
