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The Sherman Avenue streetscape project is finally getting rolling this week, in what DDOT director Gabe Klein says will transform a “barren raceway prioritizing just cars” into a “beautiful, tree-lined residential street with wide sidewalks, shorter crosswalks and bike lanes in both directions.” Good news, to be sure, especially considering that project was supposed to have started in June. But wait—back then, it was also supposed to cost $10 million, not $12.5 million as it will now; it’ll also take two years, instead of 18 months as originally planned. What gives?
According to DDOT, they had a bit more trouble pinning down the funding—much of which comes from federal stimulus funds—than they had anticipated. Plus, it took longer to design an irrigation system for the center median, so plantings won’t have to be watered by trucks. The winning bid for construction came in at $9.5 million, and project management will cost three million on top of that.
So, now you know: A later, longer, and more expensive project, but a better one.