Boston street where bombs exploded is reopened

BOSTONThe area near the Boston Marathon finish line is reopening to the general public.

• Watch: Crowd gathers on Boylston St. in honor of Boston bombings
• Boston marks week from Marathon bombs with silence
• Thousands attend slain MIT officer's memorial service

Traffic was allowed to flow all the way down Boylston Street on Wednesday morning for the first time since two explosions on April 15 killed three spectators and sent more than 260 to the hospital.

Delivery trucks made their way down the street under a heavy police presence.

Workers at some businesses and hotels in the area were allowed to return to their jobs on Tuesday to prepare for reopening.

Some stores directly affected by the blasts are still boarded up.

The Copley subway station that had been closed since the bombings also reopened, while the main branch of the Boston Public Library was also scheduled to reopen Wednesday.

Two construction workers were guarding fresh concrete that was still drying on the sidewalk where one of the bombs exploded.

At a Starbucks, customers were allowed to retrieve purses, school bags and cellphones that were left under tables in the chaotic aftermath of the explosions.

"I don't think there's going to be a sense of normalcy for a while," said Tom Champoux, 48, who works a few blocks away, as he pointed to the fresh concrete and boarded-up windows.

"There are scars here that will be with us for a long time."

Meanwhile, thousands gathered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a memorial service for Sean Collier.

The campus police officer was killed three days after the bombings.

Authorities say he was shot by the suspects.