NATCHEZ — Although the aim was to have the Marblestone Road extension complete by the time school buses roll, the deadline has not been met.

Public Works Eric Smith said while school starting may cause an increase in traffic, there should be no trouble caused by construction being there.

“There shouldn’t be any problems with the school buses and traffic or anything because we’re basically working off the road,” he said.

He said nothing stands in the way as far as blocking traffic.

“The road is still passable,” he said.

And if there’s a chance work will spill out onto the road, Smith said it will be handled.

“If we’re working in the street, the traffic will be directed,” he said.

He said while workers are out there, they’ll also shoulder the responsibility of making sure the cars do not encroach the unsafe area of the road — the edge that leads to a 30 foot drop off that’s eroding.

“We’ll make sure that no one gets too close to the edge that’s caving,” Smith said.

The caving road is what caused the public works department to start work on Aug. 1.

Workers are basically rerouting the narrow road to allow better passage.

A semi-circle has been cleared by cutting down trees, a portion of the project Smith said is completely finished.

The work remaining includes grating and paving.

This 30-foot-wide, 400-foot-long road is only a temporary measure until the city can put to work the $35,000 they received to fix it.

The money will be used to place rocks along the bank of the road, hence preventing further erosion.

As of Wednesday, Smith said the project is roughly 35 percent complete.