Construction of the sidewalk along North Highway 47 in Warrenton could be extended into early next year, city officials say, frustrating hopes that the project would have been wrapped up before …
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Construction of the sidewalk along North Highway 47 in Warrenton could be extended into early next year, city officials say, frustrating hopes that the project would have been wrapped up before winter. The sidewalk will connect the Interstate 70 corridor to Hickory Lick Road.
The Warrenton Board of Aldermen in November extended its contract with engineering firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT), which is overseeing the project on behalf of the city. The extension could cost the city up to $29,000 to finish overseeing the $1.7 million construction project, which is being done by contractor R.L. Persons out of Poplar Bluff.
City Director of Operations Jon Struckhoff said a majority of the extra cost will be paid for by the Missouri Department of Transportation through a cost-sharing agreement.
CMT’s inspector on site confirms the project is being done according to specifications, and also that contractors are complying with requirements that come with the outside funding Warrenton is receiving for the project, explained engineer Brian Eads with CMT.
Eads said construction was delayed by issues with utility relocations, including a COVID outbreak among a utility company crew that was supposed to be relocating utility lines away from the sidewalk’s path.
“There was probably over a month that things didn’t get moved. The contractor was working the best they could where they could, where there weren’t utility conflicts,” Eads said, adding that wet weather also slowed the work over the summer.
Eads said his firm is pushing construction crews to finish paving the sidewalk before winter weather forces them to stop, but that might not be possible.
The delay leading to extra oversight costs frustrated several Warrenton aldermen.
“The city is the one who is footing the bill for these delays,” commented Ward 2 Aldermen Steven Cullom. He said he sympathized with the issue of illness and quarantine, but that it was a problem everyone knew about and was dealing with.
“I just don’t think the city should have to put out that much for their delays,” Cullom continued. “We’re still under budget (for the full project), which is great, but I’m a taxpayer too, so I want to try to save where we can.”
Cullom asked if any of the extra cost could be reimbursed from the contractor or utility company, but Eads was doubtful of that prospect.
Another big reason construction is pushing into the winter months is that work got started later than hoped, due to a lengthy process of acquiring construction easements for the sidewalk. City Attorney Christopher Graville said an outside company tasked with the acquisitions had failed to work in a timely manner.
“We thought for eight months they were working on this, and they weren’t,” Graville said. “We set (CMT) back at least three months, which set the whole schedule back.”
Mayor Eric Schleuter said because of this experience, easement acquisitions for any future infrastructure projects would be done in-house by city staff who are dedicated to getting the project done.
