Just shy of a month into the Elm Street Road Project, project engineer Tim Ramsden said construction is progressing nicely.

The city awarded expedited bids on April 7, and since the awarding of the expedited bids, the work of resurfacing County Road 26, or Elm Street, and replacing a bridge from the intersection of George Wallace Drive to the junction of County Road 14, or Swindall Road, has seen little delay in work.

“The new bridge approach is being constructed up to the subgrade level,” Ramsden said. “We need to relocate a water line, but we’ll actually start building the bridge itself after that.”

Ramsden said engineers had previously known about the water line, but the relocation would be a large undertaking for the crew.

“There is a water line that has to be relocated,” Ramsden said. “There is a large water line in conflict with the construction of the bridge, so we’re having to relocate it. This is a considerable water line project that we’ll have to do.”

Ramsden said the road has been put in up to the grade it will be when it’s finished, minus the base and asphalt.

“It’s just the base and asphalt that is left,” Ramsden said. “It’s moving ahead pretty good, and the road is looking pretty good.”

Ramsden said engineers were still looking at a mid-August completion date, but with weather and other factors, the finish date of the project could vary.

“We are still looking to use the full working days,” Ramsden said. “We think we will be finished mid-August at the very, very earliest. A working day is not like a calendar day. It depends on if you get rain, and that doesn’t count against you. For a month, you’re really looking at 20 working days in a way. When you say 90 working days that’s probably more like four and a half months.”

District 1 Councilman Charlie “Sarg” Dunn said he was excited to see the roadwork progressing so nicely.

“I haven’t gotten the chance to go down there because by the time I get up it’s too hot to walk down there, but I’m just excited to see it started,” Dunn said. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. They’re making good progress. They only have so many days, and after that we’re going to start fining them.”

Until the roadwork is complete, people hoping to traverse Elm Street Road are being asked to follow the detour designated for Elm Street Road.

Assistant general manager for Troy Utilities Department Mike Davis said through traffic would need to take Barron Road instead of Elm Street Road.

“Those coming West on Elm Street into town will take Barron Road, and they can come in on either Three Notch or Gibbs Streets,” Davis said. “Or, they can come in off of US Highway 231.”

For those traveling into Troy, Davis said they would need to take Gibbs Street to Butter and Egg Road to Barron Road and then come back to Elm Street Road.

Dunn said despite the detour, constituents were still ecstatic for the project to have finally come to fruition.

“The people that travel that road are excited,” Dunn said. “A lot of them are having to go a roundabout way to get where they want to get, but it’s worth it. When that bridge gets fixed, it’ll be there until our grandchildren are grown.”