The company building a sidewalk on North Highway 47 in Warrenton has provided a completion date for the construction, including repairs of water erosion damage, according to city Director of Operations Jon Struckhoff.

Struckhoff updated city leaders about the sidewalk project during an April 19 public meeting. Earlier in the month, city leaders had expressed frustration that contractor R.L. Persons Construction hadn’t yet returned after the winter freeze to repair the damage and finish construction that started last year on a sidewalk from the North Service Road to Hickory Lick Road.

Struckhoff said that shortly after those frustrations were aired, the contractor sent notice that they would return equipment to the project area in the first week of May, and would have the sidewalk construction finished by the end of June.

“They have a lot to fix,” Struckhoff commented. “Substantial completion is June 30. Now, obviously, they’re not going to have grass growing on the new stuff by then, so they’re going to be back fixing that stuff even after that.”

Mayor Eric Schleuter said the timeline for completion is acceptable, although it’s an extension to what the city had originally contracted. He said any further extension would be highly undesirable.

“They need to really work on completion,” Schleuter emphasized.
The city had previously threatened to levy financial penalties on R.L. Persons if the company didn’t make a commitment to a timeline for finishing the project.

The sidewalk construction is a $1.7 million project, half of which is being funded by the Missouri Department of Transportation.