The fifth and final phase of the Harry S. Truman Parkway opened to traffic 20 minutes early this morning, around 9:40 a.m. Drivers now are able to use the Truman Parkway to travel between Abercorn and President streets between southside Savannah and downtown.

Read Savannah Morning News Researcher Julia Muller's blog on the history of the Truman Parkway

Earlier story:

The fifth and final phase of the Harry S. Truman Parkway will open to traffic at 10 a.m. today, the Georgia Department of Transportation has announced.

Savannah-Chatham County police and Georgia State Patrol troopers will be on hand to usher the first vehicles onto the newest section of the parkway.

News of the opening was welcomed Thursday by some and viewed a bit skeptically by others, considering both how long the project has taken to complete and the hoopla surrounding a premature ribbon-cutting held two weeks ago.

"I'll believe it when I see it," one Facebook commenter wrote.

Nevertheless, the four-lane, 10.8-mile Truman Parkway, with completion of the 2.08-mile extension, is projected by transportation planners to ease traffic congestion on Savannah's southside.

The idea for the project dates back to 1925, but serious consideration didn't begin in earnest until the mid-1960s.

For decades, Abercorn Street has been the city's main link between downtown and the southside, but the roadway's commercial growth has transformed it into a sea of vehicles at peak driving times. The completion of the Truman Parkway is expected to provide a quicker alternative and give islanders and eastsiders direct access to the southside and Interstate 95.

In December 2009, the DOT allocated $128 million for the final phase, and construction began in March 2010 after a contract was awarded to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Inc. in the amount of about $72 million.

Ann Purcell, a DOT board member, said the project came in under budget.

"I am so pleased that we are able to open the Harry S. Truman Parkway to traffic this Friday," she said in a statement.

"Georgia DOT staff worked closely with our contractor to ensure this schedule would be met despite the many challenges and difficulties faced as we neared the end. Opening this entire parkway is a monumental accomplishment that was years in the making, and we are so proud to have achieved this milestone for the citizens and visitors of Savannah and Chatham County."

The final phase opening allows motorists to continue from the end of phase four at Whitefield Avenue over the Wilshire Canal and Vernon River to White Bluff Road, continuing on to Abercorn.

The new stretch of roadway encompasses three sets of two parallel bridges, and more than 1,700 bridge pilings were driven into the wetlands.