Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has urged Prestwich to "get through" the disruption on Fairfax Road and believes the town is becoming one of the "jewels" in the region's crown.
The mayor says he "hears the complaints" about travel chaos in the town and the impact it's having on businesses.
The road has been completely shut for the past month and closed in various other forms since October as work on a £100m+ regeneration project takes major steps forward.
It has reopened for the Easter bank holiday weekend to support independent traders, and will close again on Tuesday morning (April 7) as the new 301-space 'travel hub' car park progresses.
Businesses say Prestwich has become a "ghost town" as a result of the works, which limit traffic and footfall, while regular visitors say they're being "put off" visiting due to the work.
However, regional mayor Mr Burnham has urged people to get through the "pain before you get to the prize" and said he saw a bright future for the village.
Making the comments in Prestwich as he helped Labour launch its local election campaign, he said: "Maybe [people] can also see the benefits that come at the other end.
“I think the travel hub is not far from opening, and that is going to improve things for people here.
“For as long as I’ve been coming to Prestwich, people have said to me, ‘When are we having the Longfield Centre improved?’, and that is on the way.
“You couldn’t be mayor of Greater Manchester and not hear complaints about disruption.
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“The city centre has had a lot of disruption because of building, but if you can get through that, you get the prize, which is a growing city region.
“I see huge prospects for Prestwich in terms of improvements for everybody who already lives here, and a really vibrant, growing community.
“I think it has got brilliant years ahead of it. Yes, you have a bit of pain before you get to the prize, but it will come.
“I think Prestwich will, well, it already is in many ways, but it will be truly one of the jewels in Greater Manchester’s crown.”
The £14m travel hub project is expected to be completed by July, with Bury Council leader Eamonn O'Brien recently saying Fairfax Road's closure should be lifted "probably by the end of April".
However, he warned of further disruption in the town as the second phase of the regeneration gets underway.
This will involve demolishing the Longfield Centre, with a contractor recently approved to begin works this month.
Once demolished, 248 new homes, a new library, and other community facilities, including a market hall, will be created in the town centre.
Cllr O'Brien also attended Labour's election campaign launch in Prestwich on Thursday (April 2).
When asked about the disruption, the Prestwich councillor said: “There’s no question about it, there has been disruption so far.
"I just wanted to say to those who have been affected, thank you very much for bearing with us.
“Thank you for your patience, it will be worth it and in the meantime, we’re going to do everything we can to continue to encourage local residents and people to come and visit, to use those local businesses, to support them during that disruption.”
He went on to say the initial road closure would be coming to an end soon.
He said: “We’ll do everything we can to support them through it. But the big prize at the end of all of this disruption is a fantastic, vibrant new town centre here in Prestwich.”
Have you been affected by the Prestwich regeneration, or put off from visiting the town? Let us know in the comments.
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