BEND, OR -- Reconstruction of 14th Street, on the west side of Bend, is nearing completion and city officials want to celebrate. Work began last spring and featured a major road closure and numerous detours. Project engineer Garrett Sabourin says motorists will be allowed to drive on it by Friday afternoon, "A lot of people probably saw we were just paving last week, striping the road this week, and now we're just trying to finish up the landscaping and get as many workers out of the road before we start sending vehicles down there."

It’s the eighth project funded by a 2011 general obligation (G.O.) bond. Sabourin says everyone is invited to a party, Friday afternoon, "It's really to celebrate the completion of the Transportation general obligation bond, which encompassed several projects across the City, and the opening of 14th street, which is the final G.O bond Project." He tells KBND News, "It'll be a lot of the people who've been involved at the higher level of the project, kind of talking about some of the successes, and the people who've been involved throughout this process, and showing some appreciation to those, as well as the community that's had to deal with the impact that's inherently associated with these construction projects."

The party starts at 3:30 p.m. in the Parilla Grill parking lot near the 14th and Galveston roundabout. "At the end of the celebration here, a formal or official ribbon cutting, followed by pulling all the signs back and opening it up to traffic." Sabourin says a few final touches are still needed, "We'll be done, as far as most people will see. There'll be some small punch list items to still do, but once we open the road, it's open, though. We're not going to reclose the road, by any means."