Stadium Renovation Schedule at risk?

Two stories related to the Stadium project have made it onto the front page of the Ann Arbor News this week.

Today the News reported that some of the concerns over the construction noise were dying down, going as far as to publish a noise readings and on MLive.com, some actual “noise” from the stadium for your iPod:

That fine, but I was a bit more concerned in this piece that headlined the Tuesday May 6 Ann Arbor News. The gist is that the University backed off its attempt to close a lane on Main Street to facilitate the renovation project.

The thing that caught my eye was a quote midway through the story. The U-M spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said that the lane closure wouldn’t jeopardize the near-term plan to have the stadium in shape for football this fall, but admitted that the plans to complete the gig by 2010 might be up in the air. Judge for yourself:

U-M had planned to have the rest of the work finished in the fall of 2010. Cunningham said U-M is reassessing its construction schedule.

“At this point, we’re looking at the construction schedule, exploring options, as to when and how the project can be completed,” she said.

University officials had previously characterized the lane closure as crucial to their construction timetable and to public safety.

This could be a bit of sour grapes over losing the lane closure battle but nonetheless, it’s the first public mention of a possible delay and I’ll be watching.