ROCKINGHAM — The wait is over.

After more than four months of being closed, Long Drive opened back up to traffic early Friday afternoon.

A section of the road was closed off between Mill Road and East Broad Avenue following Hurricane Matthew last October.

Peggy Beach, a spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Transportation’s District 8 Office, which includes Richmond County, told the Daily Journal earlier this month that crews had been working on replacing a pipe since January and that the road was scheduled to open the week of Feb. 24.

Traffic had been diverted down Biltmore Drive.

William R. Toler | Daily Journal A car crosses a section of Long Drive Friday afternoon, not long after the road opened back up to traffic for the first time since Hurricane Matthew passed through in October.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/web1_LONGDRIVE_open.jpgWilliam R. Toler | Daily Journal A car crosses a section of Long Drive Friday afternoon, not long after the road opened back up to traffic for the first time since Hurricane Matthew passed through in October.

Staff report