WATERTOWN, S.D. (KWAT) — A highway construction project east of Watertown won’t finish on time due to poor weather conditions that have plagued the project from the beginning.

A 15-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 212 is being rebuilt from the junction of South Dakota Highway 15 to the Minnesota line.

South Dakota DOT Project Engineer Jeff Brink says when they started construction in June, they had a targeted completion date of Oct. 18, which is Friday.

He says that won’t happen.

Brink explains what they’ve got left to work on.

He says they can’t lay new asphalt if temperatures get too cold, so they’ll have to watch that, too.

Brink says the detour routes that have been in place will remain until the $13.8 million project is finished.