TRADERS in March were celebrating today as High Street re-opened to traffic.

TRADERS in March were celebrating today as High Street re-opened to traffic.

Nearly five weeks after it was closed by National Grid, the barriers came down 11.30am, ending the nightmare for those traders hit by the closure.

National Grid said they finished a few days earlier than expected and workmen lifted the barriers allowing through traffic along the busy road.

Rob Skoulding, of the Oliver Cromwell Hotel, said although it had still been possible for residents to get to the hotel it had still put off passing and casual trade.

“Some traders have been hit very hard,” he said. “It will take a long while for them to recover.”

“National Grid, in partnership with Morrison Utility Services, has completed gas mains replacement work in High Street, March, Cambridgeshire,” a spokesman said last night.

“The new, long-lasting, plastic pipes and services (the pipes that supply gas to individual properties from the gas main in the road) have been laid and the iron pipe decommissioned. “Work is now underway to reinstate the road.

“After the trench was filled with a foam concrete and the concrete had set, reinstatement and resurfacing work began and it is expected that the road will reopen by Friday afternoon.”

The work, which began on Tuesday 31 August, has now been finished and the road reopened ahead of the targeted five-week completion date.

Chris Naylor, Business Support Manager, Morrison Utility Services, said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by our works and would like to thank people for bearing with us while this work has been under way. This essential work will help ensure that local people can continue to benefit from safe and reliable gas supplies for many years to come.”

Traders who complained of lost earnings because of the road works resorted to putting up their own signage to indicate access was still available.