After announcing the MoPac improvement project was about three weeks behind schedule in October, contractor CH2M Hill said the company has increased the number of construction workers onsite by 40 percent since late September.

CH2M Hill is also working to fill three key vacancies for the project manager, construction manager and scheduler, all of whom recently left, the company announced Nov. 19. CH2M Hill brought in Dan Reynolds from its headquarters in Denver to oversee the hiring of the new managers and to manage the transition.

"I've looked at the project and we had to increase our resources and the scope of contractors," Reynolds said. "That's been our focus."

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority, which manages the MoPac express lane project, has boosted communication to weekly meetings with the contractor and infrastructure firm HNTB, which is handling oversight of the project.

Wes Burford, Mobility Authority director of engineering, said the added support should help CH2M Hill overcome any delays in completing the project by fall 2015 as expected. The length of the delay is not yet know, but Burford said an update on the schedule will likely be presented to the Mobility Authority board at its Dec. 17 meeting.

HNTB Project Manager Paul Petrich said the number of construction activities has doubled from 1,500 to 3,000 since September, and those activities will be monitored to create a better understanding of how behind schedule the project is and how to address the delays.

"The addition of their staff and the incorporation of new people, we've seen some very positive things come from that," Petrich said. " We have much better direct communication. Things are getting done on a daily basis and in a much more effective manner."

He said CH2M Hill will modify the schedule and see how any changes to the project from the Mobility Authority would affect it.