Shorewood's Own Thanksgiving in April

After years of waiting for the garrote of road construction to loosen and let the air of business back into its lungs, the Shorewood business community can now breathe easy and celebrate the re-opening of Route 59.

"The businesses have been through a lot the last few years with the construction on Route 59," said Shorewood Economic Development Director Nancy Roman.

And now the businesses are reaping the rewards of an improved traffic pattern, and the alleviation of congestion wrought by lane closures.

And to mark the occasion of this return to normalcy, merchants along the reconstructed road are staging a "Return to Route 59" celebration.

The event will feature sales specials, food and fun for four days, starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, when Mayor Rick Chapman kicks things off with a ribbon-cutting symbolizing the opening to the way to "business prosperity."

"We've had a pretty good response," village Planner Karen James said of commercial participation in the event. The only downside, James said, is that there will be so much to do over the weekend it will be tough to get to it all.

For more information, check out the details here.