Construction of the SH 26 widening project will continue into 2020, officials said at the July 2 Colleyville City Council meeting.

The $38.2 million widening project stretches along SH 26, which is the main business corridor for the city of Colleyville. The area has experienced "unusual weather events" that have impacted the schedule, said Minh Tran, a Texas Department of Transportation area engineer, to the Colleyville City Council at its latest meeting. The main reason for the construction delays, however, is due to utility conflicts.

"All of that combined pushed out the schedule," he said. "We’ll continue working with the contractor to do what we can."

The new timeline Tran presented pointed to Phase 3 of the project being finished by the end of the year. After Phase 3 is finished, Phase 4 will begin and is expected to take five more months to complete.

This changes the original timeline that was presented to council, which had Phase 3 slated to finish in June and Phase 4 to finish by the end of the year.

City Council members expressed their disappointment with the news.

"I'm concerned about the schedule," Mayor Richard Newton told Tran.

He pointed out the city is planning to install landscaping and do some beautification work along SH 26. While the city is finalizing design plans and purchasing products, any delays on SH 26 will result in a delay for the city, he said.

"To be perfectly honest I don’t have a lot of confidence that we’re going to meet these schedules," Newton said. "The Glade Road utility conflict has been there for months and months. ... Your answer was we need to coordinate with the city staff. I’m concerned about that, and I would like more specific answers so our planning doesn’t get impacted from what it is today."

TxDOT set these new deadlines since the northbound lanes of SH 26 are almost done, Tran said. Once crews have finished Phase 3 and begin work on Phase 4, that work will consist mainly of median construction. It is unlikely crews will encounter utility conflicts in the middle of the road, he said.

TxDOT does need to work with Colleyville city staff to finalize decisions for the landscaping along the road so it can stay on schedule, Tran said.

Newton said city staff is more than willing to cooperate with TxDOT and stands ready to help as soon as needs are communicated.

"Please do everything possible to keep the schedule from slipping," Newton said.