John Tuohy

john.tuohy@indystar.com

A busy thoroughfare in Carmel reopened to traffic at rush hour Tuesday, ending a long construction nightmare for businesses along the route.

The Indiana Department of Transportation opened U.S. 31 between Old Meridian and 136th streets at 4:55 p.m., in plenty of time for Thanksgiving travel.

INDOT spokesman Nathan Riggs said crews worked feverishly on last-minute fixes, such as putting down lane markings and installing pavement reflectors, to open it for the rush.

"Even though we had until Thanksgiving, they pushed hard to get it open tonight," Riggs said.

Two lanes in each direction were flowing. By the end of next year, another lane in each direction, already built, will be opened.

Thanksgiving was the deadline when the road was closed in April for construction of exit ramps, overpasses and new roundabouts, sending to 51,000 cars a day to alternate routes.

"It was a big deadline to meet," Riggs said.

The opening couldn't come soon enough for Jersey's Cafe, 13710 N. Meridian St., Carmel.

"It has been a struggle. We are looking forward to getting our customers back," said Blair Laing, executive chef, who said business dropped 60 to 70 percent during the road construction.

Jersey's was hit harder than most because it was flying high after appearing on the Food Network's "Drive-ins, Diners and Dives," before construction began. The show brought in waves of new customers, most of them from out of town.

"Our base went to about 80 percent tourists and 20 percent locals," Laing said. "The lines were out the door and then the locals stopped coming because it was too crowded."

But when construction started it became too much of a hassle for the tourists to find.

"We were probably the only business that had to have an employee dedicated to answer phones and texting out-of-town customers to give them directions for how to navigate the construction and find us," he said.

At Brunchies, manager Brooke Hoover said the roadwork reduced the lunch crowd by 30 percent.

"Our breakfast wasn't hit as bad as lunch because at lunch people have to get in and out fast — they are working and the construction made that difficult," she said.

Brunchies tried various marketing schemes to keep customers, such as frequent diner cards.

"Those tend to work for only a couple days though," Hoover said.

But she added, "we have survived and now we have to get our customers back here."

Work will continue on some cross streets along U.S. 31 until the end of 2015 and there will be some intermittent lane closures, mostly at night, Riggs said. The work includes an overpass at 126th Street and roundabout interchanges at Main and 136th streets.

The construction is part of a $1.2 billion project to turn U.S. 31 into a limited-access highway by removing 32 traffic lights between I-465 and South Bend, cutting commutes by up to 30 minutes, transportation officials said.

When the work is finished at the end of 2015, three lanes in each direction will be open. But trucks can return to U.S. 31 now.

Acknowledging the hardship to businesses, Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard in August launched a social media campaign to encourage patronage at area restaurants and shops, called #31Bites. He urged residents to visit a business everyday for 31 days.

At Zoup, 1430 Carmel Dr., general manger Brinna Voege said the soup, salad and sandwich lunch spot hasn't suffered as much as some businesses.

"We have used loyalty cards to keep our customers coming in and people have found other routes here," Voege said. "But we are thrilled that the street will open again."

Call Star reporter John Tuohy at 444-6418 and follow on Twitter @john_tuohy.