CROSS PLAINS, Wis. -- A summer construction project on Highway 14 near Cross Plains and Black Earth was completed Tuesday, much to the relief of area businesses.

More than seven miles of Highway 14 were shut down from June to September. Local businesses felt the brunt of the construction as resurfacing crews closed the highway to most traffic.

The nearly $6 million construction project started with an apology from the state Department of Transportation for not giving business owners enough notice.

The DOT sped up the construction process and on Tuesday opened the highway to traffic. Businesses owners said they are glad the construction is finally complete.

Cathy Barman, owner of Sisters On Main, said she had to go down to working three days a week and cut hours for all her workers.

"The only thing I kept was myself working 16-, 17-hour days and my fulltime seamstress and one other fulltime employee. Otherwise I've had my regular employees all down to half -- even quarter time," Barman said.

Barman said her dry cleaning service and alterations shop lost some $20,000 in the past two and a half months, which she attributed to the economy and construction.

The DOT said that because of these concerns, the department paid the contractor $25,000 to complete the project five days early.

"We actually hoped for a little more than five days, but a couple weeks ago we saw almost a week full of rain so we lost some time there. Otherwise we would have been open sooner. But I guess we're happy with the progress and the contractors worked hard to get done early," said Jeff Gust, project development supervisor for the Wisconsin DOT.

Crews opened up the highway to traffic around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The DOT said it will finish last minute details on Highway 14 in the next two weeks. The next construction projects scheduled for 2010 include resurfacing nearby County Highway KP.

As for as the long-term affect of the construction on area businesses, the Black Earth Chamber of Commerce said that no businesses have closed, which some had feared would happened. The Black Earth Chamber of Commerce said it expects to see the real impact in the next six months.