Lee said sometimes drivers get caught in the middle. Four lanes can be harder to cross. When medians are included, it's more like trying to cross six lanes of traffic. Farther up the road from Hebron, four lanes merge to two. Alan Porter, Chester's village board chairman and State Bank of Chester president, said he hasn't heard of any complaints or problems trying to cross the highway there.
Heavy traffic is only present in holiday times.
Shortly after traffic switched over to the new highway, a school bus went through the old highway's barricade and ended up in a ditch, Porter said. The old highway in Hebron connects to the new highway and also serves as a business route through town. Business in Chester has declined since U.S. 81 traffic bypasses the town. Almost immediately, business owners reported drops in visitors. Hebron is trying to get business back.