Jill Schramm/MDN Construction of the approach to the Colton Avenue Bridge in Burlington is under way Tuesday. The bridge, at far right, is to be substantially complete and ready for traffic later this year.

North Dakota’s low unemployment rate is hindering contractors in playing catch-up on weather-delayed construction projects.

The loss of work days due to rain or snow in September and early October set back the work on the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection in Minot and Burlington. For contractors to make up for lost time would require putting more workers on the job, said Ryan Ackerman, administrator for the Souris River Joint Board, which is overseeing the flood protection project.

“There’s no labor to do the projects that need to be done,” Ackerman said of the difficulty in compressing the work into the limited time remaining before freeze-up. The wet weather is affecting projects regionally, not just in Minot, creating increased competition for a limited supply of available workers, he said.

Some construction projects also sit idle because ground remains saturated and it’s not possible to achieve the compaction necessary, Ackerman said. Those areas are waiting for warmer, windy weather for drying.

Despite the weather so far, the goal is to have the new Colton Bridge in Burlington open to traffic before freeze-up in November, Ackerman said. The deck has been poured and the contractor is working on the approaches. The bridge project should be substantially complete before the end of the year, leaving landscaping elements to be finished next year.

Minot’s phase 1 segment of the flood protection project had been about six months behind schedule going into September. It now is about eight months behind.

The Broadway pump station was only modestly affected by the September weather, Ackerman said. The Fourth Avenue flood wall and utility work along Third Street are where Phase 1 saw more impact.

Phase 1 initially fell behind because of the need to relocate the Sundre water line for the Northwest Area Water Supply project. Due to changes in Canadian Pacific Railroad’s permitting requirements, permission to go under the railroad was delayed, setting back the line relocation, Ackerman said.

Flood protection phases 2 and 3, which were about six months ahead of schedule, now are about four months ahead, he said.

Sixteenth Street Southwest still has two of its four lanes closed in the project area, but the lanes are expected to open before the end of the year.