SAN ANTONIO -- Ken Shelley is frustrated by the mess his neighborhood has to deal with—an unfinished construction job and the city must decide who will tackle the remaining work after a construction company filed bankruptcy.
“When you pull out here to try to make a right turn, you've got all these cones."
Shelley told us the work started about a year ago and stretches about three miles along Hunt Lane near Potranco Road.
Shelley sees traffic back up about a quarter to half a mile in the mornings along Sugarloaf Drive as people try to leave his subdivision and maneuver around road blocks created by the stalled road work. He sent an email to News 4 hoping to get answers about the construction.
"I watch you, WOAI and Troubleshooters and said maybe they can take a look and see what's going on and why this is not getting complete," Shelley inquired.
The city hired Ballenger Construction for the $8.3 million dollar road-widening project.
City spokesperson, Melissa Sparks, said taxpayers won’t shoulder an additional burden to finance the rest of the work.
Sparks also told us Ballenger’s bonding and insurance company has the task of finding another contractor to complete the job.
Ballenger Construction was handling eight city projects—now in various stages of completion--as well as several others throughout Bexar County.
Shelley thinks the unfinished work is a real hazard for drivers and school children.
Some of the students walk to a nearby middle school and others ride school buses that must navigate around tight spaces due to construction barricades.
“I know what that’s like to try to swing the bus when you’ve got traffic coming at you and you’ve gotta be real cautious,” he insisted.
The homeowner wonders if the city did a thorough background check on Ballenger before hiring the company for so many projects.
The company outbid competitors based on the city’s system for awarding contracts.
City spokesperson, Melissa Sparks, said taxpayers won’t shoulder an additional burden to finance the rest of the work.
Sparks also told us Ballenger’s bonding and insurance company has the task of finding another contractor to complete the job which was supposed to be completed in March 2013.
