After nearly two years and more than $50 million worth of work, the Burrard Bridge fully reopened on Saturday, much to the relief of businesses in the area.

“We lost a lot of business,” said James Zhou, owner of Daikichi Sushi on Burrard Street. “We have a lot of customers who pick up orders, but there is no parking. Where is parking?”

Zhou’s restaurant opened shortly before construction began, and immediately saw business drop. He estimates his sales were off by roughly 20 per cent while the work was being done.

Tony Murdock, owner of the nearby Burly Barber shop, told CTV News his business was similarly affected.

“It’s basically stopped the foot traffic,” he said of the construction. “It's stopped the bikes coming up and down … When they have a sign saying sidewalk closed, no one is going to do it.”

The 85-year-old bridge was “falling apart,” before the $58 million restoration project, Mayor Gregor Robertson told reporters on Saturday.

“We had real concerns when we had pieces of the bridge falling and we had electrical issues,” he said. “The whole bridge deck needed to be replaced, as well as the water and sewer mains on both sides.”

Today, in addition to those structural improvements, the bridge has new sidewalks, restored lighting, suicide-prevention fences, and - controversially, to some - a separated bike lane where there was previously another lane of traffic.

As Robertson spoke at a ceremony commemorating the completion of the restoration work, a disgruntled passer-by yelled, “Close the bike lanes.”

“I know it’s been frustrating for commuters,” the mayor said. “We’ve had lots of grumpy feedback for a couple of years.”

Robertson thanked local business owners for their patience, saying he believed the newly refurbished bridge and streetscape would prove to be worth it for them in the long run.

The business-owners CTV spoke to seemed to share the mayor’s optimism. Murdock said his building now has 10 parking spots open in front of it for customers to use, and Zhou said he thought his restaurant would recover.

“We should be OK,” he said with a laugh. “We still sell good food.”

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Breanna Karstens-Smith