Highland’s Veterans Honor Parkway opening pushed back to Aug. 7
It will take another six weeks for Keller Construction to finish Veterans Honor Parkway City Manager Mark Latham told the City Council on Monday night.
The city was hoping to open the new road by the end of this month.
But Latham insisted that the road will be completed for the Aug. 7 ribbon cutting, announcing the road’s official grand opening.
“Keller Construction had asked that the opening be pushed back until Aug. 14,” he said. “They requested for some additional time to finish the road because they spent more time than they expected getting Dennis Rinderer Park prepared for the Memorial Day Celebration.”
The recent rainy weather has also not helped the construction workers.
On Tuesday, Keller was placing concrete on the Troxler intersection in the rain.
“The rain is killing us,” said Keller Constructin employeee David May.
Latham said Keller will not be penalized for not having the road project finished by the end of June.
He added they will not be penalized if they don’t meet the new Aug. 7 deadline.
Keller Construction broke ground on the $6.5 million project in August 2013.
The road will extend Iberg Road from Michael Road to Troxler Avenue. Similar to Frank Watson Parkway (the northwest peripheral route), the new Veterans Honor Parkway (northeast peripheral route) will have traffic and bicycle lanes.
But unlike any other project that the city has undertaken, this project had required a new bridge, which built over railroad tracks, rather than constructing an at-grade crossing.
In the meantime, the city might install a roundabout near the St. Rose and Iberg roads on the eastern edge of town.
Latham said the city was considering the roundabout even before last week’s accident near the intersection involving a motorcycle and a United States Postal Service vehicle. (See story on Page A6.)
Latham said he plans to meet with the county by the end of next week to discuss the project.
Other news from Monday’s City Council meeting
▪ The City Council approved a construction engineering agreement with Oates Associates Inc. for a placing a right-hand turn lane on $106,500 Troxler Avenue. The city will defer $80,000, which will be set aside for Americans With Disabilities Act sidewalk reconstruction to supplement this work.
“We will reconstruct ramps and some sidewalk during our Walnut Street construction project that will count toward our transition plan,” said Public Works Director Joe Gillespie.
▪ The City Council also approved entering into a $49,200 engineering service agreements with Oates for the Sportsman Road reconstruction project. The city is planning to reconstruct Sportsman Road from Plaza Drive to Frank Watson Parkway.
This story was originally published June 19, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Highland’s Veterans Honor Parkway opening pushed back to Aug. 7."