With construction season well under way, it appears less and less likely Charleston's first bike lane will be built this year.
Nearly three years after city council first approved the design for the project, Charleston officials are still waiting for permission to advertise the construction work to contractors.
"It's frustrating. I don't even know what the minor hold-ups are at this point," City Manager David Molgaard said Friday.
The delay could be at least partially because federal grant money will fund the project, requiring more extensive reviews of the plans.
In addition to $2.66 million in federal funding, the city was required to provide a nearly $470,000 match, Molgaard said.
Designed by TRC Engineering, the bike lane will stretch about 1.3 miles along Kanawha Boulevard from Patrick Street to Magic Island.
Under the project design, all four lanes of traffic would remain on the boulevard, but would be slightly narrowed, Molgaard said. The median would be removed.
The lamp posts lining the sidewalk will be moved to the north side of the boulevard and a grassy buffer will separate vehicles from cyclists, he said.
While Molgaard said the project could still happen this year, that will depend on whether it can be completed before asphalt plants close for the winter.
The Charleston Boulevard Rod Run and Doo Wop, scheduled for the first week of October, could also pose issues, he said.
"I met with our designers in January. We all agreed that to avoid conflict, we needed to have this on the street and soliciting proposals by April, and that hasn't happened."
The city has been working with the state Department of Transportation's Grant Administration Unit to ensure the project design has met all state and federal requirements.
Kenneth Given, who heads the unit, said the design plans have been approved by the state.
The project's funding won't be awarded until its final design is approved by the Federal Highway Administration, Given said. The plans were submitted to the administration on May 6.
Officials from the grant unit explained that any changes made to the project plans also had to be reviewed and affirmed by the feds.
For example, the State Historic Preservation Office postponed the process last year when it determined the project would have "adverse effects" on the view along Kanawha Boulevard.
The city was required to add an informational kiosk with photos of historic Charleston to the project plans.
"We had to meet with [Historic Preservation officials], develop a memorandum of agreement and then send it off to the U.S. Department of the Interior for their review and comment," said Ryan Burns, of the Department of Transportation's Grant Administration Unit.
Department of Transportation officials say the nature of a bike lane project is different from conventional road work.
"This is an alternative transportation and beautification project. It's got weird elements that don't fit into the normal mold," Program Coordinator Mark Scoular said.
Once the Federal Highway Administration signs off on the final design, the city must go through a roughly three-week process advertising a request for proposals to contractors for its construction.
Molgaard estimated it could take four months to complete.
"We're ready to advertise as soon as the state gives us notice to proceed," he said.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.