The New York State Department of Transportation says the Niagara Thruway and multiple state routes have finally reopened on Thursday following the holiday weekend winter storm that devastated Western New York and the city of Buffalo.

I-190 remained closed from I-90 (exit 53) to exit 16 (I-290), including access to and from the Peace Bridge, even after the travel ban on the mainline Thruway (I-90) was lifted on Tuesday. I-90 had been closed to all traffic from exit 46 (Henrietta) to the Pennsylvania line.

The NYS DOT says the portions of State Routes 5, 33 and 198 that had remained closed in Erie County also reopened on Thursday.

The travel ban was originally put in place on Friday because of a massive winter storm that impacted a large portion of the country.

The storm is currently being blamed for the deaths of at least 37 people in Erie County and one in Niagara County. Officials believe there is a possibility that number could rise if additional storm-related deaths are discovered in the coming days.