PELHAM – Improvements to Village Place, the road that will connect Bearden Road to Pelham Park Middle School, have been put on hold until utility relocation work can be completed by AT&T.

Pelham City Manager Gretchen DiFante said the utility poles must be moved before road work can continue. No exact start and finish dates have been released by AT&T, but DiFante said utility relocation will likely take most of December to complete.

Wiregrass Construction Company Inc. was hired to complete the Village Place improvements. Crews are expected to resume work at the site sometime in January of 2018.

The entire project is expected to be completed sometime in February.

Crews have to finish constructing the shoulders on the road and create parking space for Parkside Village residents.

“We are adding additional parking for residents on that street,” DiFante said. “If you’re headed to the school from Village Place, there will be a parking lot over to the right. There will be some roadside parking spaces bit we wanted to provide some additional paring. It’s a safety measure so their guests don’t have to park on the street.”

DiFante said once construction crews return to the site, they will stay out of the way during high traffic times at the school.

“Since school started, construction crews have really tries to stay out of the way,” she said. “That’s going to continue to be important as we move forward. As a mom who has to pick up and drop off a child at that school – I think they’re doing a great job.”

The Village Place improvement are a part of an overall plan to create a second roadway access route to Pelham Park Middle School. The road is being widened, repaved and curb and gutter added.

The southern portion of Old Asheville Road would be realigned by 225-275 feet to allow sufficient space for a desirable design of turn lanes onto Bearden Road.

In June, the Pelham City Council accepted a $84,700 bid from Wiregrass Construction Company Inc. for the completion of the resurfacing project in Parkside Village.

During a special-called council meeting on Sept. 13, council members unanimously approved a change order, submitted by Wiregrass Construction Company Inc., as recommended by Goodwyn, Mills, and Cawood, in the amount of $23,628.65 for additional work to be completed with the Village Place improvements.