Woodlands Parkway expansion hits another snag

"I feel that it's helpful because it allows everyone involved to come together and basically try to deliver this project as soon as we possibly can," Samuels said about the meetings.

Noack said the way Menade has handled the project is "absolutely unacceptable." By mid-June, the company had not provided any explanations for the most recent delays, he said.

Before the bidding process began, the project had to be delayed by almost a year to complete a new environmental study. Menade submitted the lowest bid, a total of about $2.8 million, and it was accepted in August of 2012. TxDOT typically chooses the contractor who submits the lowest bid.

Construction on the expansion started Nov. 26, 2012, after initial delays because of utility relocations and design flaws. After construction began, drilling on the Lake Woodlands dam proved more difficult than the company anticipated, Menade President Jerry Wade said in a previous interview with Community Impact Newspaper.

Other issues include having to redesign plans for the bridge, moving water and gas lines, and conflicts between the entities working on the project.

One of the most recent issues that has come up is a problem with the roadway's drainage ditch grading, which results in standing water on the bridge in heavy rain.

"[Menade is] also having to go back and make some corrections to the grade on the [eastbound] lanes," Noack said. "The grade was engineered properly but they did not construct it properly, so they're having to go back and make some changes there."

Every working day that Menade exceeds the 246 working days planned for the project, it has to pay $785 in fees to TxDOT.

As of June 20, the project had taken 110 days beyond that deadline, Samuels said, adding up to $86,350 in overage charges. The expansion has an estimated cost of more than $3.6 million, according to TxDOT's project tracker, and it was just a little more than two-thirds of the way completed.

Samuels said TxDOT does believe Menade will successfully complete the project. Noack disagreed.

"I don't have any faith that Menade is going to build this as it should be built anyway," Noack said. "And they're eight months behind as it is already. I have no doubt that there will be future delays."

Wade and other employees at Menade did not respond to messages left requesting a comment for this story.