HOPE MILLS, N.C. — A town is closer to having its lake back.

Hope Mills opened the new Lakeview Road Friday.

The old road was washed out when heavy rains flooded the Hope Mills Lake on Memorial Day weekend in 2003.

The lake was lost in the process.

The first car to use the new Lakeview Road was driven by with Lisa Waring.

"It was just wonderful," Waring said. "We are just so happy to have the road open. It was just wonderful."

After Waring and a traveling companion passed over the road, other drivers flowed onto the new stretch of asphalt and rolled across the lake for the first time in years.

Without the road, people could not easily get from one side of the lake to the other. They had to go miles out of their way.

"Usually go all the way around and get stuck in traffic, but this way will be a lot quicker," Samantha Holland said.

Crews worked on the road for months. Now that it has reopened, Hope Mills Mayor Edwin Deaver thanked town residents for their patience.

"It seemed slow-coming, but we're excited," Deaver said. "The whole town is excited."

The town plans to tackle the lake project next. The project could start as early as January, and the completion of the lake could take a year.