Texas Department of Transportation spokesman John Hurt said work on two flyovers connecting Hwy. 290 and MoPac is taking longer than originally thought.

Contractor Anderson Columbia Co. extended its timeline—originally slated to end in the spring—and is building the new flyovers to match the existing ones.

Hurt said workers are building a "fractured fin" concrete retaining wall as opposed to a smooth "slip-forming" wall.

"It looks like it has slates. The design is more labor-intensive," he said.

When completed, the flyovers will connect northbound MoPac to eastbound Hwy. 290 and westbound Hwy. 290 to southbound MoPac.

Hurt said the contractor may be able to open the northbound MoPac to eastbound Hwy. 290 flyover in September.

He reported that aside from the timeline extension, construction is proceeding smoothly and without problems.

If completed in October, the project will have been in the works for two years.TxDOT and the City of Austin broke ground on the project in October 2010. Wiser Construction was awarded an $8.4 million building contract.

The City of Austin will pay for the project; TxDOT will reimburse the city 80 percent over the next 10 to 15 years.

Wiser was reportedly half finished with the project when the contractor filed for bankruptcy in mid-July 2011.

By September 2011, the project's bond company had sought replacement bids and selected Anderson Columbia.

Anderson Columbia was able to build off of Wiser's previous work and was contracted to be paid $5.2 million of the initial bid. Any additional costs greater than the contract will be paid for by the bonding company.

The flyovers will reportedly save drivers 44,000 gallons of gasoline and roughly 400 hours daily in travel time per year.