SPRINGFIELD — The county has wrapped road construction on a $1.2 million resurfacing project on Transmitter Road.
Bay County’s contractor finished the main work Monday, but still has sodding to do and must connect the freshly paved road to residential and commercial driveways.
The contractor also will stripe the road and lay new reflectors, but must wait 30 days for the asphalt to cure, said George Walrond, county engineering division manager.
In October, the county awarded the contract to Phoenix Construction, of Lynn Haven, to pave 1.85 miles of Transmitter Road, from U.S. 98 to north of Game Farm Road.
The 165-day project is ahead of schedule; it’s only about 105 days in, with little left to do, Walrond said.
Weather delays and holidays, however, extended the contract’s termination date to April 11, from the original March 29.
Walrond said it’s nice to have the repaving finished because that’s what causes traffic delays, though the remaining work will cause intermittent lane closures.
The project also added a second left turn lane at the U.S. 98-Transmitter Road intersection, which will allow more traffic to funnel onto the highway. The new turn lane won’t be opened up until the final paint has been put down on the road in a couple weeks, Walrond said.
“I think overall it’s a big improvement to Transmitter Road,” he said.
Phoenix’s owner James Finch said the project will come in on budget. He said the county had an adjustment in scope that will create a small change order (where the county must pay out more money), but his company’s projections were within budget.
Finch hoped to finish everything but the lane striping by the end of next week. He said weather delays were the project’s only hiccup.
“It was a nice little job,” he said.
Commissioner Bill Dozier said he didn’t hear any complaints about the project, but several residents voiced their opinions to him about it. He said they understood the delays were necessary to improve the road.
“Mostly they were happy that the project was moving forward, and that they’re going to be glad to see it when it’s done,” he said.
Dozier said Transmitter Road is one of the main arteries in that part of the county and it was good that the engineering department fixed it up before it was unsafe for travel.
“We certainly never want to get to that point,” he said.