Otaki locals are thrilled to finally have an expressway bypassing their town open after five years of waiting.
The $445 million Kapiti Coast Rd is expected to ease congestion and take heavy traffic out of the small centre.
"Long weekends and holidays are the worst, so very pleased to see it open," said one.
"I'm really excited to see hopefully a safer road environment for all of us," another told Newshub.
Business owners are also excited, even if it does divert traffic.
Leon Kingi from Black & Co in Otaki said less traffic will actually result in more customers.
"It's going to work out better for us because at the moment there are people who won't come in because of traffic issues we have in Otaki."
Work on the expressway began in 2017. It was scheduled to open in 2020 at a cost of $330 million.
But with COVID-forced delays, inflation, bad weather and project design changes, it grew by $115 million and two years.
Waka Kotahi top of the South regional manager Mark Owen said the new design includes better asphalt and a shared path for pedestrians and cyclists.
"From a safety perspective, it's significantly increased from what we had previously."
The road will be opened in phases over the next couple of days, and be fully open in both directions by Friday.
"It was always going to be a challenge to get it open by Christmas, but the crews have really worked hard despite the weather," said Owen.
Newshub understands the road wasn't expected to be ready until early next year, but Waka Kotahi recently put the pressure on to open it by Christmas.
"We know it's going to get busier this week so we wanted to get it open," said Owen.
Associate Transport Minister Keiran McAnulty said he's confident it hasn't been rushed.
"It is up to scratch and it is ready to go, keep in mind it is opening for the busiest time of the year. It wouldn't be opening if there were shortcuts taken."
The expressway will eventually be extended past Levin but that won't be finished until 2029, causing concerns for former Otaki MP Nathan Guy that traffic jams will be an ongoing problem.
"I'm worried about the congestion that used to be here in Otaki is going to move up the road to Levin and create a snarl up of traffic."
A prediction motorists are hoping doesn't come true.
