A Kelly Mill Road improvement project has been held up by cold, wet weather and the relocation of utility lines.
Initially targeted for a finish by year’s end, the roadwork will extend into 2012.
The 2.6-mile stretch from the Cumming city limits to Bethelview Road has been under construction since June.
Repaving improvement work still needs to be completed from Johnson Road to the city, said Tim Allen, Forsyth County’s assistant director of engineering.
That portion of the project will include straightening curves and raising grades, he said.
Storm drains, shoulders, curbs and other improvements have been completed.
Relocating water lines and other utilities delayed the project in the fall, when the dry conditions were best for paving work, Allen said.
Those delays were caused by finding the lines and coordinating schedules with Cumming and utility companies to move the infrastructure, he said.
“Now, we’re at the mercy of the weather,” he said. “The rain’s been delaying us for the past three weeks … We’ve got to have three to four days of dry weather, and it’s got to be warmer too.”
Looking at the current week, Allen said drier weather may be in store, but the temperatures appear to be too cold.
Once the conditions are right, the pavement improvement will take about six days to finish, he said.
“You’ll really make a big mess if you go down there and attempt it and it freezes,” said Allen, adding that travel on the road has not been impeded much by the weather delays.
“We’ve kept it where it’s passable and everybody can get by, and that’s the plan. We don’t want to create something that’s a driving nightmare or a maintenance nightmare.”
The county hired Blount Construction to handle the project at a cost of about $2.6 million, which will come from current 1-cent sales tax revenue.
The Forsyth County school system also agreed to reimburse the county for about $308,000 in work associated with the construction of nearby Kelly Mill Elementary School, which is expected to open in August.
The county also agreed to pay half of the cost of relocating city water lines, which totaled about $220,000 between the two governments.