By BECKY KISER
Hays Post
Hays drivers might think they've been winding their way through the south Vine Street construction for a really long time.
The work has been going on longer than expected.
Reconstruction of Vine Street between 13th Street and south to the city limits — the Old Highway 40 bypass intersection — was supposed to be completed the last week of October.
Work on the Kansas Department of Transportation project is behind schedule, confirmed John Braun, project manager for the city of Hays.
"The contractor is currently in what they call 'liquidated damages' — sort of like a penalty phase," Braun said Tuesday. "So each day, they are being charged a penalty until they get the project complete."
The construction schedule now projects a completion date of mid-December.
Lack of available workers, a nationwide problem, is attributed to the delay.
"It's manpower shortages, their inability to hire labor," Braun explained.
Access to all businesses has remained open, but sometimes with restrictions as temporary entrances are constructed.
The project contractor is Smoky Hill Construction of Salina, the same contractor that completed the north Vine Street roundabout project, work that took two years to complete.
The south Vine project includes replacement of the concrete pavement, select areas of curb and gutter, sidewalk ramps, new pedestrian crossings at Eighth Street, storm sewer inlet tops, and pavement markings.
The $3.9 million project got underway May 9.
In 2019, the city was awarded a $1 million grant from the KDOT City Connecting Link Improvement Program to help fund the cost. Hays will pay the remaining $2.9 million using cash from the city's capital reserve fund.