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VALPARAISO -- As if on cue, a doe and her fawn bounded from the tree line into the roadway.

The deer stared at a group of nearby folks who just a year ago would have been infiltrating their habitat.

Nowadays, that habitat is shared on and around the nearly completed Vale Park Road extension.

The deer were safe Thursday, stopping only briefly before leaping into a wooded area. But by the end of the month or the first week of November, cars and sport utility vehicles will dot the winding two-lane road formerly known as the "missing link."

It's not missing anymore. It's been built and needs just a layer or two of asphalt, a couple yellow lines and traffic signals before opening to the public.

The Vale Park extension connects the road from Valparaiso Street on the east to Campbell Street on the west in front of Valparaiso High School.

City leaders have envisioned such a road for five decades.

But it has long been clear the project wouldn't be easy, given the delicate nature of the terrain, including wetlands and the secluded Silver Lake to the north of the road.

When the city approved the extension and bought the land in 2004, environmentalists, calling themselves Friends of Silver Lake, rallied to oppose the project. Their efforts were enough to delay construction by a year, but their hopes of preserving the land were dashed.

The group, though, acted as a watchdog as plans were made for the road. While Friends of Silver Lake didn't want any sort of roadway other than perhaps a bike trail or walking pathway, city leaders and engineers worked to protect the surrounding ecosystem as much as possible.

Strolling along the still quiet half-mile stretch, surrounded by trees and wetland creatures and nary a hint of city life, Redevelopment Commission Executive Director Stu Summers was happy with the final product.

Summers understands why environmentalists fought so hard to protect the land.

"It's a beautiful piece of property," Summers said, looking into the distance where fall colors blazed as far as the eye could see.

Well less than an acre of wetland -- seven one-hundredths of an acre, city leaders have said -- were affected by construction.

The road includes two elevated stretches where box culverts were built to allow for an amphibious crossing under the layers of asphalt, gravel and clay.

A 10-foot pathway will meander alongside the roadway, and a boardwalk will be built to traverse the wetlands. The pathway was designed to wander in parts to avoid cutting down areas of trees, Summers said.

Drainage was handled by city deputy engineer Tim Burkman in a way that resulted in the creation of a pair of man-made wetlands. In these retention areas, stormwater percolates back into the earth instead of quickly running off into the surrounding environment. The thinking is that such water will be filtered cleanly back into the ecosystem.

The extension won't have any streetlights other than those already in place at the east and west intersections. Summers said too much light can have a negative effect on the surrounding environment. But if findings some day reveal the need for lighting, the footings were set in the construction of the roadway.

Any rumors of a gas station being built at the intersection with Campbell Street are false, Summers said. There is no way underground storage tanks will be allowed near the sensitive area, Summers said.

He envisions perhaps a dentist's office, or other professional office, being built near the intersection. The nearby Christ Lutheran Church, Summers said, also is interested in some of the available land for expansion.

That, however, will have to wait to let the roadway and surrounding area "settle for a year." Summers wants to make sure everything was done properly before anything is built at the intersection.

And Summers will recommend to the Redevelopment Commission that the land be leased, not sold. The money could be used for future improvements to the property.

No homes will be built along the road, and the area might be rezoned to avoid such a possibility in the future.

Knowing the roadway disrupted previously undisturbed land, Summers said the goal is to preserve as much of the surrounding area as possible.

"There was lots of work and lots of engineering that went into this," Summers said. "And lots of public hearings."

Now, it's a matter of putting the finishing touches on the controversial stretch before opening it to the first vehicle, whose driver must check his or her speed at no more than 25 mph.

The doe and her fawn, after all, will be watching.

Contact Tom Wyatt at 477-6017 or twyatt@post-trib.com