After about two weeks of overnight construction, a new section of Hwy. 141 is nearing completion.
While the state Department of Transportation had hoped to open the stretch from Sharon Road to Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road today, evening showers this week have pushed the completion to Monday.
“The second southbound lane of Hwy. 141 is not going to open [today],” said Teri Pope, a DOT spokeswoman. “Crews were not able to work at all Tuesday night due to rain and [Wednesday night] crews were only able to work for a couple of hours due to rain.”
She said it will open Monday, with crews planing to work overnight tonight and Saturday.
“Monday during the day, we’ll come in and due the final striping and open that final lane,” she said.
From there, crews will begin widening the next section of Hwy. 141, from Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road to Bridle Ridge/Karen White Drive.
By Monday, Pope said, Hwy. 141 will boast four lanes, extending south from Hwy. 9 to Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road.
“At that point, we will have four lanes open on 4.8 miles of this project,” she said. “And the project is only 6.5 miles long, so it’s ... very exciting stuff.”
The overall $50.7 million project, which began in 2006, was originally targeted for completion by July 2009.
Many factors have contributed to the delay, among them foul weather, hitches relocating utility lines and issues with the road design firm.
But in recent months, the project has picked up pace and likely will meet the new Dec. 31 deadline.
The contractor, C.W. Matthews, is expected to have the entire 6.5-mile stretch of the highway widened by Nov. 1, with only final touches and punch list items to follow.
Randall Davis, district construction engineer, said in a statement that the most recent stretch wasn’t expected to wrap up so quickly.
“C.W. Matthews got more paving done over the weekend than expected,” he said.
Once the next section from Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road to Bridle Ridge/Karen White Drive is complete, crews will begin work on the final segment, from Bridle Ridge/Karen White Drive to Deerlake Drive/Granite Lane.
“That’s the last section. That’s the end of the project,” Pope said. “But they’re literally moving dirt still from one part to the other.”
Despite progress and large portion of work completed, Pope said the full 6.5 miles is still considered a work zone where speeding fines are doubled, “even the sections where four lanes are already open.”
“We’re very thankful to get all these lanes open for folks to use,” she said. “It seems to be moving very quickly ... and it’s really nice to be able to open lanes and relieve congestion.”
While the state Department of Transportation had hoped to open the stretch from Sharon Road to Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road today, evening showers this week have pushed the completion to Monday.
“The second southbound lane of Hwy. 141 is not going to open [today],” said Teri Pope, a DOT spokeswoman. “Crews were not able to work at all Tuesday night due to rain and [Wednesday night] crews were only able to work for a couple of hours due to rain.”
She said it will open Monday, with crews planing to work overnight tonight and Saturday.
“Monday during the day, we’ll come in and due the final striping and open that final lane,” she said.
From there, crews will begin widening the next section of Hwy. 141, from Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road to Bridle Ridge/Karen White Drive.
By Monday, Pope said, Hwy. 141 will boast four lanes, extending south from Hwy. 9 to Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road.
“At that point, we will have four lanes open on 4.8 miles of this project,” she said. “And the project is only 6.5 miles long, so it’s ... very exciting stuff.”
The overall $50.7 million project, which began in 2006, was originally targeted for completion by July 2009.
Many factors have contributed to the delay, among them foul weather, hitches relocating utility lines and issues with the road design firm.
But in recent months, the project has picked up pace and likely will meet the new Dec. 31 deadline.
The contractor, C.W. Matthews, is expected to have the entire 6.5-mile stretch of the highway widened by Nov. 1, with only final touches and punch list items to follow.
Randall Davis, district construction engineer, said in a statement that the most recent stretch wasn’t expected to wrap up so quickly.
“C.W. Matthews got more paving done over the weekend than expected,” he said.
Once the next section from Brookwood/Mathis Airport Road to Bridle Ridge/Karen White Drive is complete, crews will begin work on the final segment, from Bridle Ridge/Karen White Drive to Deerlake Drive/Granite Lane.
“That’s the last section. That’s the end of the project,” Pope said. “But they’re literally moving dirt still from one part to the other.”
Despite progress and large portion of work completed, Pope said the full 6.5 miles is still considered a work zone where speeding fines are doubled, “even the sections where four lanes are already open.”
“We’re very thankful to get all these lanes open for folks to use,” she said. “It seems to be moving very quickly ... and it’s really nice to be able to open lanes and relieve congestion.”