Construction of the first public road to the Juniper Dunes Wilderness Area is facing delays.

The Tri-City Herald reports (http://bit.ly/NUipqO) that construction was supposed to start no later than September, but now is delayed until Franklin County commissioners decide how to resolve a landowner's concern that a 30-inch-diameter pressurized water line might be at risk.

Acting public works director Guy Walter says the best solution is to replace about 1.5 miles of the aging steel water line, costing more than $1 million, which the county does not have in its budget.

The plan is for crews to improve a private gravel and dirt road that connects the dunes to the Pasco-Kahlotus Highway. The improvements to make it a county road were originally estimated to cost about $718,000.