DENHAM SPRINGS - Contractors have been busy at work in The Willows subdivision smoothing streets and trying to meet an upcoming project completion date near the end of February. 

WBRZ visited The Willows on Feb. 5. The roads were covered in mud and piles of dirt. Residents said there were days when they could not leave the area due to construction work.

Parish President Randy Delatte's office said Feb. 12 was the estimated date for a smooth, driveable surface.

"Is it driveable? No. It is definitely not driveable right now," Denham Springs City Councilman Robert Poole said.

Over the course of one week, the roads are much better than they were, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The biggest problem is the front of the subdivision, where the entrance is blocked off to keep thru-traffic out and allowing crews to smooth over the roads before final touches are made.

This has created a nearly two-mile detour, having residents go through Gene Buckle Avenue.

"It's really constricted folks in their ability to move about and so everybody is kind of on edge about this," Poole said.

Some residents and those building seem ready for the project to finish, with tensions increasing at times as residents try to get to their houses.

"Their employees are getting hostile," resident Sharon Badeaux said. "The residents have been really patient. They're getting paid to deal with this, we're not getting paid to deal with this situation."

Some residents, however, feel sympathy for contractor RJ Daigle in regards to the backlash the company has been getting.

"They're going the best they can. When they pre-planned this work, they should've taken into account all of the what ifs and what if I find this or that, which is what they found out when they took the roads up," homeowner Michael Varnado said.

The project should be fully completed by Feb. 23. 

To judge whether the neighborhood is seeing improvements, you can click here.