When Neil Johnson was elected mayor in 2005, one of his first goals was to oversee creation of a Main Street running through the city’s proposed downtown.

The evening April 27, at a small ceremony including past and present members of the Bonney Lake City Council as well as city staff and the engineers who helped make it possible, the mayor officially cut the ribbon, completing the construction of the city’s new Main Street and the new intersection at Sumner-Buckley Highway.

“By golly, we have a Main Street,” Johnson said. “It is great to see it finally happening.”

Johnson cited the dedication of the council and the city staff for making the project possible.

The street opening is another step toward the city’s vision of a pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use business district in the area just northeast of the state Route 410 and Sumner-Buckley Highway intersection.

The next step is to encourage more businesses to open in the downtown core.

“We’re on our way,” Johnson said, calling the day “one for the history books.”

In addition to the paving and striping of Main Street and the addition of the new traffic light on Sumner-Buckley Highway, the $4.6 million project also included the widening of Sumner-Buckley Highway, the addition of sidewalks and stormwater lines and the placement of utility lines underground.

The majority of the funding for the project was collected through the traffic impact fees, which were imposed in 2003. Additional funding came from grants, the Interim Justice Center bonds and from water system development charges.

In addition, Puget Sound Energy contributed 60 percent of the cost of installing utility lines underground.

The city also constructed a regional downtown stormwater pond to provide stormwater drainage for the entire area.

Public Works Director Dan Grigsby also cited City Engineer John Woodcock and Project manager Art Larson for their efforts in making the project a reality.

Grigsby said the completion of the project should help give a better idea of what the completed area will be.

“Now you can visualize what the downtown will look like,” he said.