Construction at Dunham’s Jog, originally schedules to be finished by this month, will continue through late spring or early summer of 2004, said Charlie Gischlar, spokesperson for the State Highway Administration.
“The weather really impacted us,” Gischlar said.
The construction is at Potomac Village at the intersection of Falls and River roads. Drivers going south on Falls would suddenly find themselves forced to “jog” to the right or suddenly discover they were in the left turn lane at the intersection. This created an unsafe condition, particularly for those unfamiliar with the intersection.
The section of road is named for Dunham’s Auto, which used to occupy the site now occupied by Cherner’s Automotive.
The construction project will widen the road slightly and remove the small island on Falls Road. The sidewalk recently installed in front of Mitch and Bill’s Exxon will be shifted to accommodate the newly widened road.
A left turn lane will be put in to turn from southbound Falls Road onto eastbound River Road.
The project is a result of years of work by Del. Jean Cryor (R-15) and former Sen. Jean Roesser (R-15).
The project began on Oct. 7 and was estimated to cost $350,000. Gischlar does not think the delay will impact the cost of the project.
It had been planned to last 50 working days, but the frequent rains this fall made construction work impossible.
While excavation work and the removal of the island will be able to continue, workers cannot put down new pavement. “We missed the window for putting down the asphalt,” Gischlar said.
The temperature must be over 55 degrees for several days in order for the pavement to dry.
—Ari Cetron