JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It's going to cost $1 million more and take several months longer to rebuild Liberty Street and Coastline Drive along the downtown Jacksonville riverfront, News4Jax learned Wednesday.
Demolition crews have been removing the road and parking lot behind the old courthouse that collapsed more than three years ago. The city wants to turn the area into a riverfront inlet.
The reconstruction project was one of Mayor Lenny Curry’s commitments to improving city infrastructure when he took office in July 2015.
Superior Construction was awarded a contract of nearly $25 million to do the job. According to documents filed with city, the contractor is asking for $1 million more and an additional nine months to complete the job.
The company cites eight reasons why it’s needs more money, including costs incurred when it had to remove equipment for Hurricane Irma and move it back after the storm.
The city has also asked the company to use different park benches and lighting and trash cans for the area, and the company is doing increased work underwater to make the bulkhead safer.
The company also wants to be reimbursed for relocating the power lines to Berkman Towers, the condominiums along Liberty Street, that lost power when the collapse first occurred.
The project originally was supposed to be completed by this summer, but it is now projected to be done by next March. Some people said that's too long, while others see it as an improvement.
"It is an expense, but I think it would increase more activity downtown," Charlie Hovey said.
When the project is complete, construction in the area won't be over. The city is in the process of soliciting bids to tear down the old courthouse and city hall. That will take time and cost millions of dollars.
City planners are talking about relocating the convention center to either this site, to the Shipyards site closer on the other side of Berkman Towers, or even to land Jaguars owner Shad Khan wants to develop closer to EverBank FIeld.