FORT WORTH, Texas -- Anyone driving around Cowtown's Bluebonnet Circle lately might be wondering just how long an enormous construction project is going to last.
Business owners are asking the same thing. "They're way, way behind. I don't see what their plans are getting that done anytime soon," said Jeremy Soliz, who just opened a barber shop on the historic roundabout.
He says the common refrain he hears from customer after customer is, "You need an off road vehicle to get in."
A huge city sewer and water project that was announced last year and was supposed to be done this summer is, the city admits, months behind. The delays are impacting the bottom lines of some 20-plus businesses that surround the park.
"They'll work, tear some stuff up for a couple of days, and then we've had two weeks of no one working out there at all," said Kate Daniel, who runs Fort Worth iPhone Repairs.
She estimates their business is down at least 20 percent, largely because of crunched parking. "It's a mess, a disaster," said Daniel.
The project is also installing more parking around the roundabout, but Daniel says none of it should be taking this long.
The city blames unexpected summer rains for some of the delays. They also decided to wait until after the Colonial golf tournament to start some repaving, an effort city spokeswoman Janice Thompson-Burgess said was to help restaurants in the area do business as usual.
A local Facebook group has been raising issues about the project since the beginning. The Fort Worth Weekly was first to voice some of the the local's concerns in recently published story.
Soliz says he's heard now the new completion target is November, but he has his doubts. "Some people are taking bets," he said with a laugh." I'm betting next year."
The city confirmed they're working diligently toward a November finish, although that will depend on weather.