It could be midsummer before the new South St. Francis Drive underpass is completed -- more than half a year later than originally planned.

But one panel of the project's artwork, with the "sister water" verse from St. Francis of Assisi's poem "Canticle of the Sun," already is in place on the east side of the busy thoroughfare.

Artist Bobbe Besold said her aim in decorating the underpass with images of creatures and plant life is to reflect life nurtured by Santa Fe's watershed. Although the city may be far from the ocean, she plans to include a whale along with a turtle and fish.

The underpass, located south of Siringo Road and north of Zia Road, will involve installation of a 9-foot-tall, 14-foot-wide, 200-foot-long concrete box culvert linking the existing Rail Trail on the west of the highway with the new St. Francis Trail on the east side of the highway.

When David Montoya Construction Inc. of Albuquerque began working on the $1.8 million project in July, the project manager predicted work installing the culvert would begin in September and would be complete by the end of 2011.

But this week, project manager Nancy Larson said the installation of the culvert isn't likely to begin until next month and completion could be as late as July.

"We're on temporary winter suspension," she said. "Contractually, we are suspended until March 1. However, if weather permits, we can begin earlier. ... That will put us through probably June or July for completion of the box."

Most of the new 4,730-foot St. Francis Trail along the east side of St. Francis Drive has been completed. It runs from the corner of Zia Road and St. Francis Drive north, crossing Siringo Road, turning east to follow St. Michael's Drive and ending at Galisteo Street. A "zig-zag" trail up a small hill will link the main trail with the southern dead-end of Galisteo Street.

Plans by Parsons Brinckerhoff, the city's engineering consultant, call for installing the underpass without closing down any of St. Francis Drive's six lanes of vehicular traffic. Part of St. Francis' median already has been paved in preparation for temporary detours.

Larson said the plan could be altered, depending on safety issues. "That's a lot of traffic to flow through there," she said.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.