Sulwood Drive in Kambah has re-opened to traffic - with the nearly $14 million upgrade getting the thumbs up from motorists and pedestrians who said it was making their journey a lot safer.
Not all the work has finished, with the 4-kilometere-long shared path on the southern side of Drakeford Drive, as well as landscaping, still to be completed.
Only 1km of the road surface was rehabilitated in this project. The ACT government says it is "working with" the federal government to eventually upgrade the rest.
Sulwood Drive re-opened to traffic on Monday evening, after being closed since May 6 to allow for the upgrade.
The more than four-month closure involved the rehabilitation of 1km of the road surface, the installation of traffic lights at the Mannheim Street intersection and a right-hand turn into the carpark for the Mount Taylor Nature Reserve.
The shared path, which runs 4km between Drakeford Drive and Athllon Drive on the southern side of Sulwood Drive, is 3 metres wide. It is for use by pedestrians and cyclists. It has been completed near Mannheim Street but the remaining sections are still under construction.
An ACT Government spokesperson said "the project's current budget is $13.885 million" .
"This includes an ACT Government contribution of $12.303 million and an Australian Government contribution of $1.582 million (from the Roads to Recovery program)," they said.
The work also included rehabilitating 1 kilometre of Sulwood Drive, about 500 metres either side of the Mannheim Street intersection.
City Services said it was "working with the Australian government" to "progress on pavement rehabilitation of further sections of Sulwood Drive between Athllon Drive and Drakeford Drive".
"These works will address issues with road quality and prevent ongoing road defects," it said.
Motorists at the new Mannheim Street lights on Thursday said they felt the upgrade had made getting on to Sulwood Drive a lot safer.
"I think lights were needed here for a long time," one motorist said.
Kambah resident Alison Cropley, who on Thursday morning had just finished a walk up Mount Taylor with baby Charlie, three months, and dog Barley, said it was now easier and safer to walk across Sulwood Drive with the traffic lights. She also liked the right-hand turn into the carpark.
She said before the lights "you sometimes had to make a mad dash" to get across the road on foot.
Kambah resident Jackie Bryant echoed those words.
She had also been for a walk up Mount Taylor, with her baby Vinnie, four months, and said she now felt much safer crossing the road.
"I think it's often really hard to tell how fast people are going on this road so crossing it, especially carrying a baby, didn't feel safe," she said.
Ms Bryant also liked the addition of a slip-lane on Mannheim Street to allow vehicles to turn left on to Sulwood Drive.
"The fact it was a stop sign without a slip lane [before] made it feel like you had to go really quickly [to get on Sulwood Drive]," she said.
"I think being able to stop and really know you have right of way makes it safer."
A Mannheim Street resident said she hoped for some kind of sign on the street warning motorists there were new traffic lights ahead.
She also looked forward to walking along the shared path but wondered "if the cyclists will use it or still use the road".
