MIDLAND -- After a year of digging and disruptions, on Friday, Midland town officials joined leaders to celebrate the completion of Phase two of the King Street Rejuvenation Project.

The first phase of the $14 million infrastructure project started last fall then continued through the entire summer.

"Despite the challenges, everyone rose to the occasion," said Midland Mayor Stewart Strathearn. "Residents, merchants, the contractor, town staff, and you can see the results of that work it really quite spectacular."

The Downtown BIA chair, Scott Campbell, says the closure was hard on local businesses, but community support and well-timed marketing grants helped many adapt during the disruption.

"It helped a lot of stores kind of roll with times get online and selling digitally," he said.

The new downtown design features wider sidewalks, movable parking spaces and improved accessibility.

What's not visible is the new sewer systems underground, which Midland Project Manager Mitch Sobil says will help protect Georgian Bay's water from sewage bypasses during storm events.

"We've already seen improvements at the plant with reduced flows just by eliminating groundwater and stormwater getting into the sanitary system," says Sobil, "so we are already seeing the benefits of that."

The mayor says the project has been completed on time and on budget, and King Street will be open to traffic starting Monday.