With one snip of scissors, the mayor officially cut the tape on Round Top drive, re-opening the road and ending 21 months of frustration for Tantalus residents.

"Quite frankly our patience as a community has run out," said Round Top Resident Jim Romig in July 2007.

It all started in March 2006, when heavy rains caused mudslides to cover the roadway. When the city responded to clean up the mess, it discovered cracks in the wall holding up the road. But it took the city ten months to get started on the project because, it says, of funding and design issues. And then the completion date was pushed back several times.

"When we actually got a closer look at the crib wall we realized it was more deteriorated than we originally thought," said Eugene Lee, the director of the City Department of Design and Construction.

While the City worked to rebuild the road, Tantalus residents were forced to travel the long way.

For some that meant an extra 8 miles, or another hour, to get out of the area. And then when strong winds knocked a pole over in September, many residents were trapped on the mountain for hours.

Residents were angry at the City about construction delays and wanted answers.

"We don't know if its going to be three more months, six more months," said Resident Charles Black back in September. "We don't know how far along they are or what's going on."

"It's not fair to us who live up here," said another resident. "It is very frustrating."

But with the mayor's announcement…

"We are now ready to open up this Tantalus Round Top Drive," said Mayor Hannemann.

Resident Rick Ralston said he is willing to leave the past behind, and get behind the wheel of his car.

"If they haven't already pulled the ribbon down, I'll go pull the ribbon down and drive through!" said Ralston.

The city said the project has cost a total of $6 million dollars, with half of the funding coming from FEMA.

---