Road construction can be inconvenient, disruptive, and frustrating but the end result benefits the community in many ways!  The City and their contractors work hard to minimize the amount of disruptions as much as possible, and it is in the best interest of everyone to complete the project as efficiently as possible. The City includes penalties in contracts for which a contractor can be charged a fine for delays beyond the time allotted for a project. Two of the most frequent questions asked during the construction phase of a project are:

Why does construction take so long?

The answer is fairly straight-forward: major construction projects are extremely complex and require an incredible amount of work. And, while all that work is taking place, traffic still has to be able to reasonably move through a construction zone. If the project involves the replacement of a water or wastewater line, the existing lines must remain in service while new lines are constructed.

All kinds of things can and do go wrong during construction – crews digging find a surprise utility or geological feature, delivery of materials can be delayed or those materials may be problematic or defective in some way, labor shortages, not to mention weather delays, all have an impact on the timeline of the project.

Complex projects are typically done in phases or sections. In some situations, it may seem like a specific road has been under construction for a considerable amount of time. In reality, different sections have been under construction and completed. An example of this would be a project involving water, wastewater, and drainage improvements. The initial phase of the project would be to install these sub-ground utilities. Once in place, the roadway can be constructed. To ensure long-term pavement performance, the contractor must adequately prepare the roadway subgrade. The contractor may place the initial layer of the roadway surface on the newly constructed area while they are working on the next phase, then apply the final surface layer once all the phases of the project are complete.

Why is there no work being done?

One of the most common complaints is it seems there is often not any work being done on a specific project. This generally is not the case. Oftentimes, there is work being done you simply don’t see, such as underground or nearby-but-out-of-view drainage or utility work, or work on a nearby section of the same project that must be completed first due to sequencing. Construction projects are very dynamic and there are times when work sites are dormant as a result of legitimate circumstances:

• Inclement weather or its after-effects. Besides the obvious effects of rain, cold weather can also delay a project as asphalt and concrete often cannot be laid or poured in cold temperatures.
• Work cannot continue until concrete or pavement has cured.
• Some elements of the project need to be completed before others, which means some sections go dormant in the meantime.
• The contractor is waiting on a delayed utility adjustment or material delivery.
• A required crew or piece of equipment is working another section of the project or a different project.
• Something was discovered on the work site that was unexpected that requires the contractor to wait while an engineering change is designed and approved.