Ongoing negotiations over two tracts of land could put the brakes on a planned overhaul of Douglas County Road 1029, county officials said Wednesday.

The county faces a Friday deadline for acquiring access to 37 tracts of property alongside the road, which connects the Farmers Turnpike northwest of Lawrence to Lecompton.

If the final two right-of-way easements are not secured by the end of the week, the Kansas Department of Transportation will be forced to delay plans to seek contractors for handling the estimated $2.3 million project.

Instead of accepting offers from bidders in August, the department would need to push back hiring a contractor until September — or possibly even later, depending on how long the negotiations last.

“We haven’t had success at this point, as far as getting it done,” said Keith Browning, county engineer and director of Public Works. “But there’s still a chance.”

The delay wouldn’t be the first for the road project, which calls for adding paved shoulders, lowering hills, filling dips and flattening roadside ditches along the 2.75-mile stretch that carries an average 4,700 vehicles a day.

The safety-enhancing overhaul originally was to be completed last year, but county commissioners pushed it back to give officials more time to negotiate land deals and to save money during a tight budget year. The project has been on the county’s five-year capital improvement plan since 1998.

KDOT is slated to finance 80 percent of the project’s estimated $2.3 million construction cost, leaving the county to pay 20 percent.

The county also is responsible for paying all costs connected with acquiring land, moving utilities and drawing detailed plans. In all, the county has set aside $980,760 — up from the $761,000 reserved last year — for its estimated share of project costs.

Commissioner Jere McElhaney said it was frustrating to be on the verge of yet another delay, especially when the financial climate for hiring contractors couldn’t be better.

Even losing just a month on a project could cut into the winter construction season, he said, and leave the county susceptible to losing out on contractors hungry for work in a sputtering economy.

“It will cost us money, no doubt about it,” said McElhaney, who has been authorized by his fellow commissioners to approve the final right-of-way deals on the commission’s behalf. “But we’ll get it done.”