The long wait for two projects to hit the finish line are over, meaning commuters on Houston’s east side and northern areas around Spring and The Woodlands finally have their promised relief.

After a roughly six-month delay on what was supposed to be a six-month project, the southbound HOV lane along Interstate 45 will open Sunday between Loop 336 in Conroe and FM 1960.

“It will occur, fingers crossed,” said Deidrea George, spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation, noting earlier estimates that were delayed for various reasons.

The project has faced numerous delays, including everything from weather stalling work to problems erecting signs and re-designing the lane’s transition to the HOT lanes along I-45 in Harris County.

“We had a striping equipment failure, and that hampered progress for two weeks,” George said, noting the various problems, including the contractor using one work crew instead of two.

Work on the $2.6 million project was also delayed, when state funding didn’t materialize until mid-2015, which held up work until this past October.

Workers still have to stripe the northbound lane, though George said that will probably take less time because the signs and design of the transition from the HOT lanes, operated by Metropolitan Transit Authority, are already completed.

Metro, meanwhile, confirmed a project that has dogged it also reach a milestone recently. The Harrisburg overpass, which will extend the Green Line light rail from the Altic station east to the Magnolia Park Transit Center, reached completion this week, spokeswoman Margaret O’Brien-Molina said. Vehicle traffic and pedestrians have had access to the bridge for some time, with occasional closings.

Riders, however, will not hop a train east of Altic anytime soon, however. Metro must conduct weeks of testing before operating trains in service to Magnolia Park Transit Center. Service along the entire line is anticipated to start in January.

The overpass has been called “the project from hell” by Metro officials, frustrated by the delays. After initially agreeing to an underpass to soothe resident concerns, Metro reversed course citing environmental concerns on the site. Construction of the overpass languished, with Metro finally agreeing to an accelerated timeline that came with an additional payment to McCarthy, the project’s general contractor.