The long-winded construction to extend Staring Lane to meet Burbank Drive has been delayed until March 1, nearly five months after its original projected completion time.
The $15.9 million extension, a project of the Green Light Plan, originally aimed to finish construction in late November but encountered issues with the installation of sanitary sewer systems.
The failed installation near Highland Road created a type of domino effect on the remaining steps of the process, pushing the deadline back, according to Brad Ponder, GLP program manager.
“The contractor chose to change installation methods, order new pipe material, change installation crews and equipment and coordinate with other utilities in order to complete the sewer line installation,” Ponder said. “This delay then caused the paving to be pushed out five to six months.”
Ponder said while the extended amount of time has not increased the cost of the project, other factors have increased the budget.
“There have been some necessary changes to the subsurface drainage, gravity sewer and traffic signals based on unforeseen conditions that have increased the project costs by approximately $30,000,” he said.
Though the extension has been in progress since February 2009, the project still has a number of items to complete before it is opened to the traveling public.
Sound walls, sidewalks, traffic signals, roadway markings and signs are just a few of the many items left, Ponder said. The road must also pass final inspection before it is opened.
The project is 70 percent complete, according to the GLP website. But area residents doubt the project will make the deadline.
  Blog: Delays on Staring Lane constuction cause day-to-day frustrations
 
“It probably won’t be finished [by March 1],” said Shannon Carney, Meadow Bend resident and general studies senior. “At least not at the rate they have been going.”
Carney is a former resident of Highland Creek, the neighborhood divided by the road extension, and still lives in the area surrounding the construction.
“The construction has been very inconvenient,” she said. “There was a point when I couldn’t even get into my neighborhood because they blocked it off.”
Carney complained of her experiences with heavy traffic, blocked signals and detours.
“I even yelled at a construction worker one time,” she laughed.
Carney said the construction has also exposed the neighborhood to an increase in crime, citing seven burglaries in seven days late last year.
She said another concern residents have is the decrease of their home’s property value.
As of Tuesday, there are 18 houses for sale or for rent in Highland Creek alone.
Ponder said the city-parish, GLP and the contractor are working diligently to resolve all of the reported construction-related issues and complaints.
“It was known as a restricted subdivision before,” Carney said. “The extension is transforming the whole neighborhood.”
 
—-
Contact Sydni Dunn at [email protected]