FAIRLEE — The hassle of having to detour around Interstate 91 while driving south between Bradford and Fairlee is finally over.

As Vermont Agency of Transportation had flagged it expected to do earlier in the week, a single southbound lane between exits 15 and 16 on I-91 reopened at noon on Friday, VTrans said in a news release.

The roughly 6-mile stretch between the two exits had been closed since April as construction crews worked to stabilize a rock face that partially collapsed in February.

Illustrating just how much travelers on I-91 were affected by closure of the highway, Fairlee Police Chief Wayne Briggs posted on social media on Friday — “just in case you were wondering” — that a total of 1,423,000 vehicles were counted traveling southbound on Route 5 through Fairlee Village during the seven months the detour was in effect.

And that was likely even fewer vehicles than the true number, which due to “the way the sign resets” was probably 10% higher, Briggs estimated.

Given the aggravation he knew drivers felt in being detoured, “I want to express my thanks for your patience and understanding while the work was accomplished,” Briggs said in the post.

Work crews will continue drilling holes for the installation of rock dowels next week but the detour via Route 5 will no longer be in effect and temporary signals have been turned off, VTrans said.