Work on Dunklin Street that was planned to be completed by the end of November will now stretch into the new year, likely into late spring.
Due to flooding and weather, improvements on Dunklin Street have been delayed, Jefferson City Engineer David Bange said.
The $2.6 million project, which kicked off in April, includes a new single-span steel girder bridge, which will allow two lanes of traffic; added bike lanes, sidewalk and greenway; and improved stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.
The main contractor is Don Schnieders Excavating Company.
The main hold-up has been in the 400 block of Dunklin Street, where stormwater work has been delayed because of Wears Creek.
"The plan had always been to have that block completed first, so we started there and actually got the sewer lines installed," Bange said. "The water in the creek was kind of up at that point, but the sewer line is not so deep."
Then the creek water rose, so work was moved to the 300 block between Mulberry and Broadway streets, where Bange said improvements are almost complete except for some final layers of asphalt.
The intersection of Dunklin and Broadway streets is still awaiting traffic lights, which Bange said are scheduled to arrive sometime in late November.
Between Missouri Boulevard and Wears Creek, work is also mostly completed.
The 400 block of Dunklin Street and the bridge are the big parts of the project that need to be completed.
The bridge could take around two months to construct once work starts, Bange said, but they need the water level to go down.
"We've been waiting for the water in the creek to go down," he said. "Of course, the water in Missouri (River) is up, so then the backwater from the Missouri River just backs up the creek and prevents that water from ever getting where we need it to be."
The water levels are preventing the installation of new stormwater pipes along the 400 block of Dunklin Street, as well, where a trunkline stormwater pipe runs from the creek along the northern side of the road. The delay in the underground work is delaying repairs to the road itself, Bange said.
Since the water doesn't seem to be going down, Bange said, they're working to adjust the construction techniques to install the pipes without waiting for the water, which will make the process more difficult and could make the work last until February.
Originally, the project was set to be completed in November, but now Bange estimates it could take until the end of May or even early June. That's if the bridge can get started in March or April.
Because of the delay, he said they hope to reach a stopping point, patch up the road in the 400 block, and reopen Dunklin Street for the winter to allow drivers to use it again for a few months.
The road will close again when the work restarts.