Businesses relieved work has been completed

Five months of work to repair a cobbled road in a historic part of Lincoln has come to an end.

The work to remove, restore and replace tens of thousands of stone blocks on Bailgate cost £1.7m

Johann Bridges, who runs Lincoln Eco Pantry on Bailgate, said she was glad the work was over as they had struggled with deliveries.

Lincolnshire County Council has thanked businesses and residents for their patience during the work.

Located in the Cathedral quarter, the street needed to be updated to create a safer, durable surface that maintained the character of the area, according to David East, the council's executive member for highways.

"To achieve that, we removed 49,000 stone blocks and re-used roughly 32,000 of the existing stones, replacing the rest with new, like-for-like blocks.

"This was a massive feat requiring thousands of workforce hours to complete."

The work had originally been due to finish before Easter but wet weather delayed the repairs.

Bridges said: "We've struggled with some of our deliveries and I think it has affected footfall with the road closures, but at least the big, massive pothole outside the shop is now gone."

Further up the hill, House of Cards owner Stephen Kettley said they had experienced a quiet start to the year.

"The closures haven't helped, and other economic factors probably haven't helped either," he said.

"It has been disruptive, but I knew it would be when we were told it would be done.

"Hopefully we'll have a good summer, and it'll be a positive thing."

Across the road, Liz Cordeaux from The Artisan Maker was pleased with the improvements.

"I think they've done a brilliant job," she said.

"It's such a lovely area that you want people to come and enjoy it."

Listen to highlights fromLincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch thelatest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Storefor iPhone and iPad orGoogle Play for Android devices