HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — A Holly Springs neighborhood is officially back together after more than 7 years apart.

In a ceremony Thursday morning, cyclists broke a ribbon, reopening the Lockley Road bridge.

Damage from Hurricane Fran in 1996 left one road split in two.

"We wanted to get the bridge fixed because it's been a dividing line between this part of the neighborhood and that part of the neighborhood ever since Fran," Mayor Dick Sears said.

Fran flooded the stream and an inadequate pipe burst underneath. Residents were left with two sections of road and and a struggle to fix it.

The original bridge was privately maintained.

When Holly Springs annexed the area three years ago, a deal was struck. The DOT spent $50,000 on the project and Holly Springs will now maintain the road.

The new pipe is four times the size of the original and better equipped to handle heavy rain and flooding.