OTTUMWA — Organizers had it all planned out. Let the first bus onto the Ottumwa bypass rip through the banner instead of cutting a ribbon.

The wind had other ideas.

A gust caught the banner, tearing it almost exactly in the center just before the bus arrived. The loose end skittered out of the way. People laughed, but no one really seemed to mind. The 20-year effort to connect Ottumwa to Des Moines and Burlington by four-lane highways is almost over.

The Ottumwa bypass opens to drivers on Monday, though a tractor trailer loaded with hay bales squeaked through during Friday’s opening ceremonies. Four Ottumwa transit buses loaded with riders made the first official trip along the new roads. Mayor Dale Uehling was among them. The drive lacked the familiar landmarks Ottumwa drivers have seen for years.

“A lot of them were saying ‘I’m not even sure where we are anymore.’ I was having some of that,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a beautiful drive when they get it all seeded.”

Iowa Department of Transportation District Engineer Larry Jackson said the bypass runs just over seven miles around Ottumwa. This is one of the last major projects for Jackson. He retires next month, capping a career that began with work on the construction of the national interstate system.

The bypass cost $51 million and required 32 property owners to relocate. Friday’s grand opening came 10 years after the first meetings that helped lay out the path.

“Sometimes in highway work that’s fast,” Jackson laughed.

It took much longer to convince people that the project should happen at all. Rich Gaumer, one of the people who helped propose the four-lane project, recalled one of the first meetings.

“I thought, ‘Oh my God, how long will that take?’” he said. “I can tell you now.”

Gaumer recalled making numerous trips to the Capitol in Des Moines — by the old route — to try and lobby legislators for the project. They finally started using ice cream as a way to get legislators to stop and listen.

It took several years just to get initial funding. Money for the project’s planning came through in 1989. Construction funding came through in 1990, though construction started two years later.

The bypass will shift highway traffic north of Ottumwa instead of routing it through the heart of the city. Area leaders hope it will boost economic development in areas adjacent to the highway.

Some also fear it will keep people away from the city’s existing business districts. Sally Steffen, a former Wapello County supervisor, doesn’t share that concern.

“If you’re going to go someplace, if you’re going to a movie or something, you’re going to get there and find it. You’re not going to drive through a town and say ‘Let’s stop and see a movie,’” she said.