LARGO, Fla. — A busy Largo road is now reopen after a six-month closure.

Eighth Avenue Southwest was closed as part of a series of projects in Pinellas County to fix drainage issues.

For "Your" Pizza Shop owner Mark Weber, the road reopening means it’s busy at his restaurant again after months of slow business.

“I hate to say it. But it felt like COVID," he said. "Because you were isolated."

Weber has owned the business in Largo for more than 30 years.

But for the first time, he said customers had a hard time getting a slice due to the recent road closure on Eighth Avenue.

“The tough part about it is yes, it affected me," Weber said. "But it also affected all of my employees, my customers, my wait staff, my service team."

A quarter-mile stretch of Eighth Avenue Southwest just north of Taylor Lake was closed in both directions for six months due to a drainage project.

Weber said he understood it had to be done, especially with all of the rain.

“The drainage ran under the road, so they had to tear up the road to get to the drainage,” he said.

The completion of this portion of the project also improved traffic along East Bay Drive, which drivers had used to get around the closure.

Crews repaired the sidewalks on Eighth Avenue and a pedestrian bridge there. They’re also continuing to work on replacing part of the Taylor Lake seawall.

While people may still see some delays in the area as work wraps up, Weber is grateful the road is open again.

“It’s really nice," he said. "You don’t get to see someone for a long time, and they come back and it’s like a reunion. You get to see old friends again. It’s neat.”