Another bump in the road

U.S. 380 project delayed due to weather

Published Thursday, March 20, 2008

By Brandon Evans

A handful of days filled with rain and snow have caused another delay in the U.S. 380 project running between Bridgeport and Decatur.

The westbound lanes of U.S. 380 were expected to open to traffic by Tuesday, March 25. But on Monday afternoon, Bill Nelson, area engineer with the Texas Department of Transportation, announced that the westbound pair of lanes will not open until at least the first week in April due to local precipitation.

"Our contractor, Site Concrete, made a commitment to have the westbound lanes of U.S. 380 open to traffic by March 25, barring any unusual weather delays," Nelson wrote in a letter to local leaders dated March 17. "Since the meeting we have had two heavy rains in the area, in addition to nine inches of snow on March 6. Our contractor has lost five good days to weather, and the forecast for this week looks like at least two more may be lost."

On Feb. 21, several Wise County leaders met with TxDOT officials and representatives from Site Concrete in order to find a final date on the project. Many have blamed automobile wrecks and traffic problems on the perpetual enterprise. The job, which began in September 2004, has already exceeded it's original contract completion date by 314 days. But TxDOT has added 127 to the contract due to utility conflicts, work added and weather delays.

At the February meeting, TxDOT and Site Concrete laid out a timeline for project completion. The final date for construction was slated for May 1, followed by a couple of weeks of cleanup.

Nelson said Site Concrete will attempt to make up the lost work hours and still complete construction by sometime in early May. He hopes to see the westbound lanes open for traffic sometime between March 31 and April 4, barring any more weather delays.