Excited for the Cole/Fairview project to wrap up this week? We have bad news for you.

The original deadline was August — but the project got off to a slow start due to a wicked winter.

So mid-September became the target finish date for the Cole/Fairview intersection improvement project, which began in January and will cost an estimated $3.8 million.

But that’s not happening either, despite signs that were up for weeks displaying Sept. 13 as the finish date.

“As I understand it, the contractor had erroneously put that date on a sign that was up for about three weeks,” said Nicole DuBois, a spokeswoman for the Ada County Highway District.

The project won’t be totally complete until mid-October.

“We plan on still having lane restrictions until about the middle of October while we finish some island work and striping,” DuBois said. “We didn’t do all of the island work during the normal construction time line, as we wanted to maintain business access.”

Crews have worked overtime on and off to complete the project, and they will continue to do so until it’s complete, DuBois said.

She said utilities have caused some delays on the project, and ACHD has agreed to extend its contract time to Sept. 26. The highway district can seek “liquidated damages” of $2,500 for failure to make the completion deadline, DuBois said.

According to traffic counts, from 21,000 to 23,000 vehicles cross the intersection on Cole Road daily, and about 31,000 vehicles passed through it on Fairview.

The hassles associated with the months-long construction has affected businesses in the area.

Here are some of the intersection improvements:

▪ Additional left turn lanes for all directions.

▪ Dedicated right-turn-only lanes for all directions..

▪ Protected bike lanes on Fairview Avenue.

▪ Expanded sidewalks.

▪ Upgraded, ADA-complian pedestrian ramps.

▪ Protected areas for pedestrians halfway across Fairview Avenue.

▪ A retaining wall on the northwest corner that separates the parking lot from the sidewalk.

▪ A second lane in the alley behind Idaho Pizza, which will allow motorists to travel east from Axiom.

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Excited for the Cole/Fairview project to wrap up this week? We have bad news for you.."