MoPac misery might be extended

The MoPac Improvement Project’s mercurial deadline could shift yet one more time. At Wednesday’s Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority board of directors meeting, a representative from lead contractor CH2M reported that two unforeseen developments are endangering the much-hoped-for June delivery of two new tolled express lanes from Lady Bird Lake to Parmer Lane. “June will be difficult,” Rick Volk told the board. The problems causing the potential hiccup this time are the unexpected location of an underground Texas Department of Transportation utility box and the need to reconstruct one of the new soundwalls. Volk assured the members that he would have a definitive answer by the next board meeting on March 29. The project was originally set for completion by September 2015, but construction problems, labor shortages and heavy rains have played havoc on repeated attempts to relieve drivers of the constant construction that began in late 2013.