Work on Smith Street is nearing completion in Truesdale after contractor TS Banze Construction faced significant delays due to weather.
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Work on Smith Street is nearing completion in Truesdale after contractor TS Banze Construction faced significant delays due to weather. They were granted their second extension by the Truesdale Board of Aldermen at their Feb. 26 meeting.
Bart Kohrman, the engineer assigned to the project, said they are just putting the finishing touches on the newly paved section of the road. He expects the project to be completed by mid-March.
“We just need some good weather for some final grading,” said Kohrman.
The bid was awarded to TS Banze in June as Mayor Jerry Cannon said the road had been deteriorating due to the heavy industrial traffic in the area.
The first extension was awarded at the Jan. 9 meeting when winter storms slowed construction work and continued to be an issue into February. The second extension was applied retroactively at the Feb. 26 meeting since the board’s earlier meeting in the month was canceled, also due to winter weather.
The extra days of work have come at no cost to the city, according to Cannon, and with the current extension the end date of the project is March 14.
Cannon also said that while the city considered the project “substantially complete,” work still remains to clean up the yards and parking lots of homes and businesses that were damaged during the construction.
He said contractors will continue working to clean up those areas before they leave the area.
The current contract has covered the first of three phases on Smith Street and has covered the road from Laura Street to just past the MaryLou Center. The second two phases will extend first to Depot Street and then further to Water Street, where Smith Street ends.
Cannon said the other two phases will be separate projects, and the city will not be looking at designing the improvements or seeking bids until later this year.
There are no improvements planned for the street west of Laura Street.
“We will probably be looking at that in the next budget,” said Cannon.
The city will hold those discussions in June, at which point the board will decide what the city has funds for and when improvements on Smith Street will continue.
Cannon also clarified that while the project was not completed on time, and there was another delay early on in the process due to a misunderstanding with a subcontractor, he would not have an issue working with TS Banze in the future.
“Any concerns that we’ve had, they’ve addressed them,” said Cannon.
