Fassnight Creek Stormwater Improvement Project Completion Date Pushed Back Due to Construction Delays

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A major stormwater project in Springfield will now take several more months to complete after a series of construction delays.

The city says it has run into issues, pushing back the construction schedule at Fassnight Creek.

Construction equipment is lined up on Brookside Drive. The flood prevention project is now halfway through. The crews removed a concrete canal to replace it with a natural canal.

“Which will essentially widen the canal to help alleviate the floodplain for the Brookside Art Museum and surrounding residential properties,” said Kirkland Preston, City of Springfield professional engineer.

Nearby neighbors have adapted to some extent since construction began last March.

“It’s been a bit awkward, but nothing we can’t work with,” neighbor Lynn Sanders said.

The creek project and repairs to the water pipe on his street caused detours in almost every direction.

“Well, it’s a mess, and it’s been a while, but it must be,” sad Sanders. “It’s an old neighborhood. We are happy to put up with the mess rather than having more problems later.

These detours will take a little longer. The city says the Fassnight stormwater improvement project won’t be completed until the end of March now, instead of this fall as originally planned.

“Initially there was a schedule that showed late fall this year,” Preston said. “And we were hoping we could answer it, but it’s starting to become clear that because of some of these scheduling and vendor issues, the schedule will need to be revised. Throughout construction, the contractor experienced some delays, simply due to working with the subcontractors’ schedules. There were some material and supplier delays. And it’s just something that I think is experienced across the industry in the construction industry.

City engineers say they have given contractors some flexibility in timelines because of these issues.

Some of those who live nearby, like Lynn Sanders, said they understood the difficulties.

“I understand, things are hard to come by,” he said. “Coins and coins are hard to come by. So they had to back off, so hopefully the weather is good so they can do it a little earlier.

Crews plan to take a break in January and February in cold weather. Then they’ll come back to hopefully wrap up.

Brookside Drive will remain closed to through traffic between Kings Avenue and Greene Avenue until spring. The city says it thanks the neighbors for their patience.

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