After months of being closed due riverside erosion, Water Avenue has been reopened between Church Street and Lauderdale Street.

That area of the city has been hit hard over the last two years. Not only have there been several potholes, but the erosion forced the Safelite building to collapse in April.

Selma Mayor George Evans said the repair cost the city around $250,000.  While we’re glad to see the repairs completed and Water Avenue back open for traffic, we also hope this is a long-term solution.

Several businesses were affected by the road closure and ArtsRevive and Gallery 905 are presumably among those happy that it’s back open for traffic.

ArtsRevive is in the midst of a three-phase campaign to revitalize that portion of Water Avenue. Given the timing, the road closure couldn’t have been ideal.

Although it caused some headaches, this work can only be good for the future of our city.

We’ve written in the past about how valuable Water Avenue is to the future of Selma. The St. James Hotel and Alabama River — two of Selma’s biggest selling points — are both on Water Avenue. Plus, this is the street most tourists find themselves on before or after they walk over the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

The good news is that the project is complete before the middle of summer, presumably one of the busiest times of the year for our city’s tourism.