The Route 443 bridge over the Fox Creek in Berne opened last Thursday after being rebuilt over the summer.

The $1.01 million project was completed in two phases over two summers to accommodate school-year traffic. The Berne-Knox-Westerlo schools are located on Route 443 at the other end of the hamlet from the bridge.

Ray and Tammy Weiler, the owners of the Fox Creek Market, located next to the bridge, said revenues had decreased by 75 percent since the bridge closed on June 30 and that the problem was made worse because large construction vehicles at times made it hard to enter the store.

The store had averaged 100 to 115 customers a day, which decreased to below 50 during the roadwork, Tammy Weiler said.

Last week, Ray Weiler wrote a letter to the Altamont Enterprise editor, thanking the newspaper and its readers for their support, stating the Weilers were “very excited that possibly our store will be back on its feet after losing this horrible battle!”

In the summer of 2014, the state’s Department of Transportation widened and improved the intersection of routes 443 and 156. Previously, buses and trucks had difficulty negotiating the narrow intersection. Work in 2014 also included removing a building that had been damaged during Tropical Storm Irene in order to improve sight distance and the turning radius at the intersection.

This summer, the state replaced the aging bridge, which carries an average of 1,231 motor vehicles per day. Some incidental work off the travel lanes, including shoulder paving, will occur over the next few weeks, the DOT said in a release.