A heavy flow of water pours out of a parking lot on E. Elkhorn Ave. overwhelming a culvert heading under the roadway. As a steady rain continues to fall, the town of Estes Park, Colo., begins Sunday Sept. 15, 2013 to clean up the flooded downtown streets and stores that are popular for visitors. (AP Photo/ The Denver Post, Kathryn Scott Osler)

LOVELAND |  The second eight-month closure of a Colorado highway ends Thursday.

The Reporter-Herald reports the section of U.S. 34 between Loveland and Estes Park is scheduled to reopen at 4 p.m. to traffic in time for the Memorial Day weekend following flood repairs.

Tourists and area residents will once again be able to drive up Big Thompson Canyon, accessing businesses and the Big Thompson River along the way, on what officials say is a much more resilient road.

The $280 million project began in August 2016, and included two eight-month-long closures in which the road was open only to residents and only at two set times of day.

The full project is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

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