Douglas County commissioners are going ahead with solicitation of bids for a road project while acknowledging that economic conditions might cause a delay in construction.

“I just think we need to be very careful,” Commissioner Charles Jones said.

The county’s capital improvement fund includes $3 million for the project, which is northwest of Lawrence, Public Works Director Keith Browning said. Construction is scheduled for 2009 and estimated to cost $2.6 million.

The project calls for reconstructing 1.7 miles of County Road 438 and adding 0.56 of a mile of shoulders beginning at the County Road 1029 curve and ending at the pavement widening near the South Lawrence Trafficway/Kansas Highway 10 intersection. The finished road will have two 12-foot lanes with two 8-foot paved shoulders.

The county has acquired rights-of-way and temporary easements from 14 of 16 land tracts and is working on getting the final two, Browning said. Bid requests will not be issued until all land is acquired. Browning said he hopes bids can be opened by late January and construction can begin about March 1.

Jones said he is worried that the economy could get worse and that the county might need the road funding for other needs. Soliciting bids doesn’t mean the county can’t cancel the project later, Browning and county administrators said. Delaying road projects usually means they are more expensive to do later, they said.

“This is the type of project we should not put off,” County Administrator Craig Weinaug said, while acknowledging that commissioners will have some tough financial decisions to make next year.

Commissioner Bob Johnson agreed. A road project would provide jobs and could spur economic development improvements, he said. Commissioner Jere McElhaney left the meeting early to attend a funeral and was not present during the discussion.