LAKE COUNTY - After years of anticipation, 2010 is shaping up to be the year the Back Road project is completed.

Officially titled "8 Kilometers South of Polson," this federally funded project is making progress, and should have the irrigation system up and running by the time the water is turned back on April 15, according to project manager Clayton Forsmann.

The 7-mile improvement to Back Road, or formally, Secondary 354, will cost more than $8 million and should be completed by the end of this year, hopefully at the end of the summer, Forsmann said.

This is good news for most area residents, as this project has been discussed for more than 20 years and could act as a secondary road to help relieve sometimes heavy traffic on U.S. Highway 93 between Polson and Ronan. The two-lane road will run from Round Butte Road in Ronan up to Polson, where it runs into an already paved section of Secondary 354, which continues into city limits.

While much of the work is going along as planned, wet spring conditions have hampered some of the efforts and may delay the completion date.

The crew began work in September 2009 and worked until December, breaking for a few months before resuming Feb. 1.

Their efforts thus far have resulted in a one-mile section of road that is all but complete, Forsmann said, with approximately six more miles to go. Once the conditions cooperate, Forsmann said it should be no problem.

At this point, a crew of approximately 20 workers is on site.

The problem the crew has encountered involved a heavy patch of clay that is extremely wet, making it difficult for them to build a solid foundation for the road. Lawrence Cornelius, a life-long resident of the Round Butte area of Ronan, assessed the construction site last week. He has been keeping up on the progress of the project, and is excited to see the results. But, he noted, the clay spots are located throughout the project site, and take special care to build on.

"You have to work with this ground, not fight it," Cornelius said.