Commuters had reason to rejoice Wednesday afternoon as I-70 just east of Lawrence opened to two lanes of traffic in both directions.

For much of the summer and fall, the three-mile section of road had been squeezed from four lanes of traffic to two as the Kansas Turnpike Authority rebuilt the 50-year-old concrete road.

The lane closure caused major traffic headaches particularly on Friday evenings as cars backed up for miles.

By the middle of Wednesday afternoon, crews completed work on the road and had it open for the evening rush hour.