As a result of the increased highway width, the project required the removal of 94 trees along Broad Street, a development the city had tried to avoid in 1951. This time, however, the Norwich city council approved the project even though the tree removal plans were opposed by hundreds of city residents. In supporting the project, the city noted that maintenance of Broad Street would be funded by the state after the project was finished due to the street's status as an arterial highway. Additionally, the council believed that the rebuilding of Norwich's arterial highways would stimulate business within the city. Construction on the $700,000 project (equivalent to $ in ) began in January 1959 and continued through at least 1961, when the new bridge carrying East Main Street over the Chenango River was completed.