Instead of walking all the way around his Heritage Pines neighborhood in west Cary, he now walks more directly north on Louis Stephens Drive.

The last 500 feet of Louis Stephens Drive was completed last month.

“It makes a big difference,” Gunther said.

Louis Stephens Drive runs essentially north and south between Morrisville-Carpenter and High House roads. It parallels Carpenter Upchurch Road and N.C. 55.

The last link, through the northeast corner of Heritage Pines, connects the southern portion, which fronts Green Hope Elementary School and the Cary Tennis Park, with the northern part, which passes Carpenter Elementary School and the library.

Though some residents see the difference, others in the area have been focused on other things.

Lisa Spalding, principal of Green Hope Elementary, said her attention was on ending one school year and beginning another, not the road.

Spalding said she has not noticed any differences in traffic around the school nor has the opening changed her commute.

The extent of her awareness was “a couple of my staff members have said, ‘Have you heard Louis Stephens is open?’” Spalding said.

Gunther moved into the neighborhood in 2005. A year later, most of the road was complete — except for the final, middle leg.

“It just kind of hung there,” Gunther said.

Russ Overton, CaryÂ’s engineering field services manager, said the last section of the road was the responsibility of the developer of Heritage Pines.

“It was done when it was supposed to be done,” Overton said.

The road section was in the last phase of the development over which the town had no control and was complicated by a creek crossing, Overton said.

Though pleased by the libraryÂ’s new proximity, Gunther remained peeved by the slow progress.

“It really makes you wonder what the city does and it’s enlightening in a way,” Gunther said.

Overton pointed out that the completed link should ease congestion on other roads in the area.

“It’s nice to have a north-south roadway that parallels Davis Drive, Carpenter-Upchurch and [N.C.] 55 and that’ll eventually go into [Research Triangle Park],” Overton said. “It’s a master piece in the puzzle.”