The cutting of the ceremonial ribbon in front of the new Bremerton tunnel Monday signified more than a new way of travel through the downtown core.

As people return to the areas once surrounded by a cloud of construction dust, hopefully their dollars will too.

After two years of congestion, let this be a new dawn for small business owners who watched their bankrolls dwindle as the construction signs amassed in front of their stores. Nearly every small business owner is feeling the pinch of the economy, but for those in the downtown area, it’s more like a hard jab. With roads cordoned off and/or limited to one lane and traffic backing up into intersections, many people avoided the area like the plague.

With the project wrapped however, no more excuses remain. It’s important to shop local and support the small businesses in our community. Keeping our dollars here is what will help revive our local economy or, at least for now, keep our heads above water until we ride this wave out.

While the tunnel isn’t accepted by all, it’s there and it’s there to stay. Those against the project must now make the best of it. Local store owners are depending on a return of business. The revitalization of downtown can only continue if there are goods to be purchased.

If more business owners are forced to close up shop, all the years of hard work put into making downtown Bremerton a destination for visitors and residents alike may very well be boarded up along with the windows of the vacant buildings. Keep Bremerton dollars in Bremerton.