HOUGHTON — Six months after it was severely damaged, the iconic miner statue returned to Franklin Square in Houghton Tuesday morning, drawing horn honks and shouts of “Welcome back” from drivers passing by.

A speeding car hit it in early January, knocking it from its stand. The driver was uninjured. But the bronze statue suffered extensive damage, losing part of one leg and all of another. He also lost his lunch pail.

Houghton looked at a number of potential restorers, judging them on price, reputation, and how quickly they could return the statue to the city, City Manager Eric Waara said. It chose Vanguard Sculpture Services, of Milwaukee.

“There was enough photography of him over the years, they were able to mine that off of Google, and basically restore him to what he was,” City Manager Eric Waara said.

Matching the dimensions of the original statue wasn’t enough. They also had to replicate the patina it had accrued from 40 years of exposure to Houghton air, road salt and temperature extremes.

There was even a minor improvement. The pick handle had been broken off years ago and replaced with wood. Vanguard cast a new bronze handle.

They finished the work early, completing it in May instead of the estimated mid-June. And the final $35,000 price tag was $2,000 less than the quoted cost.

The statue, made by Elizabeth Biesiot, had stood at the same spot in Franklin Square since 1980. Michigan Technological University’s materials department scanned the miner to determine the original alloy. The custom mix was not in the traditional alloy “recipe book,” Waara said, but there was one close to it. Waxes were used to age the appearance of the new bronze. Another layer of wax helped give it future protection against the elements.

“Barring anything really weird, he’ll be there for a long, long time,” Waara said.

A Department of Public Works team spent about 25 minutes putting the statue back into place Tuesday.

They also took down the temporary miner sign, which had stated “I’ll be back.” Minus the slogan, the miner might be moved to the waterfront, Waara said.

Soon enough, Waara said, people will probably be decorating the miner in costumes again to commemorate holidays and local events. Like the drivers going through downtown Tuesday morning, he’s looking forward to the sense of normalcy.

“It’s just one of those little pieces of us that makes us us,” he said. “That’s what makes people happy — ‘He’s back. Things are kind of back to normal.’ Because last year was a weird year. And well, this year has been a weird year … people can see that it’s tomorrow now. Tomorrow is bright.”