New Albany road projects lag behind, overlapping construction with start of school

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- They were supposed to be finished in time for the new school year, but two New Albany road projects are running behind.

Mt. Tabor Road was supposed to be complete by late-July or early-August, but the work isn't done yet. Crews hope to have the road finished in early September.

"It is going to overlap the school season a little bit, but we do have the traffic set up to where it's going to be very similar maintenance of traffic as last school year, where folks will have to come down from Klerner Lane on Mt. Tabor Road," said Larry Summers, New Albany City engineer.

The road was reinforced to keep it from sliding down the hill, a storm-water system was installed, and sidewalks were added.

"Once it's done, it's going to be a phenomenal project and make access to the school much safer," Summers said.

Across town, a brand new elementary school is set to open. The road Slate Run Elementary School runs along also needs a major overhaul, but the Slate Run Road project hasn't even started yet.

"Our initial plan was for that road to be done before the school year completed," Summers said. "Again, with a couple of hurricanes that pulled some of the utilities last year and then last year being the wettest year on record here, it kind of caused some issues for our utilities."

The road was initially going to close completely during the project, but that just isn't a possibility anymore.

Construction on Slate Run Road still hasn't started due to delayed utility work. It was supposed to be completed this summer but now may stretch into next construction season if there are further delays.

"Now that the school is open, we're going to keep the road open and make sure that there is access to the school at all times," Summers said.

Keeping the road open means flaggers and other safety measures must be added, which drives up the cost of the project by a couple hundred thousand dollars. If the project on Slate Run Road isn't completed within the next few months, that means it could be pushed into next construction season next year.

Overall, the city hopes parents dropping kids off at school will have patience until the major improvements are done.

"These are investments in our infrastructure and investments into the future of New Albany," Summers said.