The six-laning project of the Cape Coral Parkway East completion date has been pushed back due to some delays. <\/p>\n
Cape Coral City Council, acting as the South Cape Community Redevelopment Agency Commission, received the update Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Public Works Principal Engineer Wendy Williams said they encountered some delays when they addressed traffic flow when going past Coronado Parkway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The delays have revolved around utilities and landscaping and signal improvements at eight intersections along Cape Coral Parkway.<\/p>\n
Williams said they were hoping that Lee County would not require a full signal plan, which the county did, so a formal presentation with a signal plan was created.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was some delay in design,\u201d she said, adding that as far as construction goes they wanted to wait until all the streetlights are in place.<\/p>\n
The construction should be done by this time next year. She said they are at around 100% completion of plans right now, which will then go out to bid.<\/p>\n
Council members asked how they could do better.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have communicated to our residents that we would start this in September,\u201d Chair Jennifer Nelson-Lastra said. \u201cWhat can we do better?\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams said she learned to include extra work time that may have to be done throughout a project. She said Lee County is currently working on 30-40 signal projects throughout the county that are in design, review and install.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will put that into our design schedule \u2013 a blackout of time in case. We made the wrong assumption that we would discuss it with them and see it as minor changes and not require a full signalization plan,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
Mayor John Gunter said re-striping the roadway and changing some of the timing loops on the signals is not a huge project.<\/p>\n
The contract with the designer of the project began about a year ago with the hope that construction would begin a month ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a huge delay. At the beginning, that is what it looked like, a striping project and maybe some timing issues. When we went further and the scope went further geographically to the west, some landscaping elements and utilities elements,\u201d were added, Williams said.<\/p>\n
Although the retiming of the signals is something that can be done on computers, the project also includes putting in some new signal heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has become more to do it right. We can\u2019t re-stripe what is there and be safe. We need to make it safe,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n