By Davi Stuhlsatz

Drivers frustrated with orange cones, uneven lanes and difficulty entering Dillons Marketplace, area homes or St. Mary can take heart. 

The Meadowlark road construction project is ahead of schedule.

“The project is scheduled to be completed by December, but it may be completed earlier,” said Kristy Bansemer, Derby public information officer on Friday. “We don’t have an exact date, but current reports are that it is ahead of schedule, despite one problem with utility relocation.”

Dan Squires, city engineer, said the $2.65 million project is 75 percent complete.

“We still have the asphalt work on the north side, and neither side has the surface course – the final two-inch riding surface,” he said. “We also still have the pedestrian signal to install in front of St. Mary, and sidewalks and landscaping.”

Curbing, storm drains and grading are done, he said.

Cornejo and Sons is the primary contractor. Their bid was $1 million less than the estimate by the project engineer but $242,284 under the amount budgeted by the city for 2012 Capital Improvement Project funding.

In addition to the savings on construction costs, the city will take advantage of just over $1 million in Build America Bonds to help finance the project.

Those bonds are part of federal economic recovery funding which saves the city in financing costs.

After completion, the roadway will have as many as five lanes in some places – two lanes each way, with a dedicated center left turn lane, and then will taper down to two lanes at the city limits, Squires said.

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