The Borman Expressway reopened to traffic at 6:12 p.m. Thursday, four days after it closed due to flooding.

All four lanes in each direction were opened to traffic through Hammond. The Interstate 80/94 ramps to and from Kennedy Avenue, however, remained closed.

The Borman closures this week had westbound traffic blocked from Ripley Street to Indianapolis Boulevard and eastbound traffic barred for a 16-mile stretch between the Illinois line and Ripley Street.

Indiana Department of Transportation crews worked through the night pumping water from the flooded roadway near Kennedy Avenue in hopes of having it open for traffic before Thursday's evening rush hour.

Thursday morning and over the noon hour, National Guard troops were busy constructing a wall made of concrete dividers, plastic and sandbags along the north shoulder of the westbound Borman in an attempt to keep water that is pooling at the lowest point -- just off the edge of the expressway -- from making its way into the road's travel surface.

After the wall was constructed, more water was pumped off the road and adjacent land.

The Borman closures had caused massive traffic jams on U.S. 30 and other main arteries and back roads as motorists tried to find alternate routes.

While the expressway -- a main hub for the Midwest -- was closed, the Indiana Toll Road agreed to waive tolls at many locations in an effort to ease the burden on motorists directed there in lieu of the Borman and U.S. 30. The tolls are now back in effect and must be paid at all toll booths.