It was the subject of a lawsuit, called a “major embarrassment for Toronto” during TIFF and went $4 million over budget.

But the three-year project to widen sidewalks and resurface Bloor St. from Church St. east to Avenue Rd. is finally complete. The four-lane road is open — with a shared curb lane for bicycles and cars — and the fencing that made getting into the area’s upscale stores a hassle has been taken down.

“It’s fantastic. We couldn’t be happier that it’s finished,” said Alan Whitfield, the general manager of Harry Rosen, on Bloor St. near Yorkville Blvd. The company is so excited it is emailing clients to tell them “there should be no hesitation in coming downtown any more.”

The menswear store also plans to rent a billboard to herald the end of the project, said Whitfield. “I don’t think it was good for business.”

Pedestrians seem equally enthusiastic about the transformation. “I think it’s exciting,” said Barb Maxwell, who had just made a diagonal crossing on the new scramble intersection at Bay and Bloor Sts. “It’s as exciting as being in the middle of that intersection, where everything stops and you can just walk through.”

East of Yonge St. this week, workers were completing cosmetic touches, installing granite benches and a total of 20,000 tulip bulbs in large stone containers on the sidewalks, which have been widened by more than a metre on each side.

Mature London plane trees, which are expected to outlast typical urban trees by decades, were planted last fall. The disease-resistant sycamores should live at least 50 years because of engineered soil and a unique material installed under the sidewalk that directs tree roots deeper down. Similar work will be done west of Yonge in the spring.

The catalyst for the street’s transformation came more than a decade ago, when the city told merchants that water mains along Bloor needed replacement, said Briar de Lange, executive director of the Bloor Yorkville BIA.

The BIA used the opportunity to re-create the street, which was inspired by the Magnificent Mile, an upscale shopping district in Chicago, and will contribute $20 million to the project.

“That’s pretty much unheard of,” said de Lange. “That a business community would pool its resources and pay for public property is amazing.”

The BIA will officially open the street in the spring, when it will also unveil a $1.3 million artwork it commissioned.

Transforming Bloor Street

Fall 2007: City replaces water mains.

July 2008: Construction begins on section of Bloor St. from Church St. west to Yonge St.

August 2008: William Ashley China Ltd. goes to court to try to stop the project, saying the city should have carried out an environmental assessment.

October 2008: Judge rules against William Ashley China Ltd

January 2009: Phase two is scheduled to begin, but Toronto Hydro discovers vibrations from construction could damage fragile lines in utility corridors and cause blackouts. A long delay ensues while repairs are made.

October 2009: Phase one is completed.

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May 2010: Phase two, west of Yonge, begins.

November 2010: Phase two finishes and the road reopens; the city is repairing a Toronto Hydro vault under the northwest corner of Bloor and Church Sts. Work is to be completed by month’s end.

Spring 2011: BIA will unveil $1.3 million commissioned art work and officially open the road.