What’s up with that?

Q What’s up with the endless construction on Houston Street? I think it’s been going on for more than three years now; it just moves from one end to the other.—Tamara Miller, Gramercy-Flatiron

A Indeed, the work on Houston Street has been going on for more than three years. “While it may look like one project after another, it’s all part of one huge project known as Contract No. HWM-738,” says Department of Design and Construction spokesperson JR Martine. The $35 million job is a joint effort with the DDC, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Environmental Protection, and will result in about 19,600 feet of new water mains, sewers, street lighting, traffic patterns and landscaping (101 trees!). The monster undertaking—spanning from the Bowery to West Street—started in August of 2005 and was scheduled to be completed by May of 2008. At press time, though, Martine said only 70 percent of the project had been finished. Our advice for pedestrians and drivers: Stick to Bleecker and Prince Streets for the next few years.

—Lisa Freedman

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