A portion of Lake City’s street and sidewalk project is running well behind schedule due to delays in getting utility lines moved so construction can proceed. Work on the $1.5 million project got started in May and includes sidewalk and road surface replacement on several blocks of Center and South Streets. According to Administrator, Eric Wood, they have seen very little progress on the South Street segment in recent weeks.
He adds Windstream is scheduled to visit the site tomorrow (Wednesday) to identify which lines are holding up construction crews. Work in that area is expected to proceed after those lines are identified and routed to avoid service disruptions. Wood thanks residents for their patience and understanding during this unexpected delay. However, he is pleased to report the bulk of the project in the downtown area is proceeding as scheduled.
The downtown area is expected to be finished by no later than Nov. 15 and potentially sooner dependent on weather conditions. However, the month-long delay to work on South Street may push the completion date to spring of 2021. City officials are preparing for the possibility the project will not be finished by the end of fall and are working with the contractors to develop plans to make the road usable during the winter months. If this does end up being the case, Wood says crews will return next year to finish up the project.
