A technical review by the Federal Highway Administration of the Burke-Gilman Trail extension from Northwest 60th Street to Golden Gardens Park has delayed the project by about two months, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation.

Groundbreaking was scheduled for last Friday, June 1, but the start date has been postponed to the end of July, said Gregg Hirakawa, spokesperson for the department of transportation.

"There's no flaw in the project," said Hirakawa. "Everything is just pushed back a couple of months."

An exact start date has not yet been determined.

The highway administration's review took much longer than the city anticipated, said Hirakawa, and the city wasn't able to put the $2.1 million project out to bid until recently. The highway administration, one of several entities funding construction of the trail extension, needed more information from the city to meet the requirements of a $674,000 grant it's providing.

The extension, originally scheduled to complete by the end of the year, will likely be done in late February of 2008.

Hirakawa stressed that nothing is "structurally" wrong with the project and that the delay was "not a big deal."

At the time of this report the construction bid hadn't been contracted out yet, but Hirakawa doubts that has much to do with all the mixed-use developments near or under construction in Ballard right now. The city competes for laborers with the state transportation department.

"We have had a tighter market (lately), but we've never had a problem getting workers before," Hirakawa said. "We don't anticipate a problem."

This segment of the trail will be a multi-use pedestrian and bicycle path from Northwest 60th Street to Golden Gardens Park and will run along the east side of the Ballard Terminal Railroad tracks between Northwest 60th and about Northwest 67th Streets.

It will head west crossing the tracks and hillside down to Seaview Avenue Northwest where it will continue north to the new portion of the trail crossing at the entrance to Golden Gardens Park. A pedestrian signal is planned for the intersection of Northwest 60th Street and Seaview Ave Northwest.

Construction also includes improvements to drainage, landscaping and lighting.

The city completed the extension design last winter after some challenges with issues related to drainage and retaining walls. Environmental approvals and permits for the project have been secured as well.

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com