BROKEN BOW – Memorial Drive will have to wait about another month for its much-anticipated makeover.
Due to supply chain issues and a single missing part, the $1.1 million dollar renovation project is slated to begin between August 1 and August 15 instead of on July 1.
City administrator Dan Knoell, as frustrated as anyone with the delay, assures residents nobody in Broken Bow is to blame.
“There was a little bit of miscommunication, but it is not the city’s fault, nor is it the fault of Myers Construction. It was one of their suppliers. There’s a special part they need for this big of a project, and that’s what’s causing the delay.”
A 45-day delay over a single part is a pain, Knoell acknowledges, “But,” he continues, “There are always silver linings to everything.”
The construction delay is better off happening in early summer, given all the activity buzzing around Broken Bow, and Memorial Drive’s part in it, Knoell says.
“The softball tournament, the pool opening, the bicycling events, plus their support vehicles, there’s not going to be any of that congestion.”
In addition to keeping roadways clear for visiting traffic, Knoell believes the delay allows the project to tuck nicely in the timelines of other projects around town, creating far fewer headaches for Broken Bow residents.
“Now, with Paulsen’s coming in to redo North 5th, we don’t have that street congested going north to North Laurel Drive as well as Myers Construction and their crew trying to be in the same locations at the same time. North 5th can now be on time, the first or second week of July, and Paulsen’s can come right in and knock that out in two or three days, which will be great.”
Access to the hospital, as well as every other facet of the project, will remain as proposed despite the delay. “It was just that tiny little hiccup,” Knoell says. “Overall, nothing about the project has really changed, not even the price tag.”
Despite the month-and-change setback, Knoell is confident that the project is still on its proper timetable. “December 1 is still the target deadline date for project completion.”
This is good news for taxpayers, Knoell argues, because a shorter construction period means less money spent on the project. “If the construction crews would have had July 1 to December 1, it’s actually more time that the city would be paying for the project. If you shrink the timeline down by 45 days, it actually takes the engineers, the contractors, out of the picture.”
“That’s been my goal since I’ve been here,” Knoell says, “If I can save a dollar, even a couple pennies, it’s still money going back to the taxpayers or into another project to help beautify Broken Bow.”
