BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- After weeks of Stockdale Highway being reduced to one lane, the city has opened the second lane earlier than expected.

Traffic moved right along Tuesday morning, a sight business owners at the Stockdale Fashion Plaza were hoping to see.

Steve Houston, owner of Houston Jewelers described the construction around his business as "complete chaos."

Since construction started, store owners said they have seen a drop in business.

Afraid shoppers would stay clear of the shopping center for the Thanksgiving holiday, a few store owners banded together and approached city leaders, urging them to open the second lane early.

And they did.

"I don't think they understood how devastating this would be for all of us but I have to say they responded, they responded greatly," said Houston.

"We are really presently surprised that people responded to us when we started saying hey, hey, you can't do this. Everybody responded and although it's not ideal at least we feel they responded to our needs," said Meir Brown, owner of Cafe Med.

City officials said they will continue to work with business owners. They will also slow down construction during Christmas time so the road is not as congested for holiday shoppers.

The road-widening project is expected to be finished by the end of February.

Now shop owners want to let people know it is business as usual.

"Stockdale Highway is open. You can get back and forth, east and west. It used to take 30 minutes to get to the 99 to my store which is one mile, today it takes three minutes," said Houston.