Although recent heavy rains have slowed work along U.S. 54, KDOT Engineer Darrin Petrowsky says construction deadlines have not changed.
Removal of pavement began three weeks ago through LaHarpe for a full-depth restoration of the highway. Koss Construction, the primary contractor for the project, has set up traffic diversion for construction along the route.
Petrowsky said heavy rains have slowed the work, mainly due to access. He said the waste created by the pavement removal needs to be dumped, and many of the heavy trucks can not access the waste drop-off points.
“Concrete pavement has to be put somewhere,” he said.
Although the waste removal is an initial concern, he also said the rains can delay cure times for the subgrade layer of the road — the dirt layer underneath the pavement and aggregate base. A full-depth restoration requires removal of the pavement, aggregate base and top six inches of subgrade.
“It just takes longer to get it dried back out,” he said, and the workers may need to “rework” the layer after rains to help dry out the material.
Construction along U.S. 54 inside Iola city limits was scheduled to start two weeks ago, one week after construction began in LaHarpe. He attributed the delay to weather yet again, but believes the process should start again soon.
“The original plan was to have some pavement out of there by now,” Petrowsky said.
Construction crews will take about three days to lay out the traffic signs and signals, before removal of pavement can begin.
Lack of information has caused some confusion about the project, he said.
Many of the motorists and residents along highway 54 have not been informed of when and where cross streets will be closed, which has led to some logistical confusion.
The U.S. 54 construction is scheduled to be completed by fall 2014, and the Iola construction will be finished by the time the KDOT construction season comes to an end in mid November.
“It’s going slowly, the weather has affected progress,” Petrowsky said. “But, those deadlines have not changed because of weather.”
Weather slows U.S. 54 work Heavy rains bog down construction process
