A sigh greets Quincy's rehabbed beach

QUINCY -- Stretches of Wollaston Beach in Quincy are lined with broad sidewalks, dotted with handsome wooden shelters, and overhung with a palpable, if grudging, sense of relief: The construction project that has loomed large over Quincy Shore Drive for three summers is now, at long last, nearly complete.

It is due to be finished in September, but that's a full year after the originally projected end date and after the close of another summer season.

"It's just unfortunate to see such chaos for so long," said Gary Kandalaft, co-owner of Tony's Clam Shop on Quincy Shore Drive, which he said lost business due to the upheaval. "It will be nice when it's done. It's just been a long, long process."

The $7.8 million construction project managed by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation includes new sand, road repaving, lighting, widened sidewalks, new seawalls, bathhouse repairs, and plantings. It was held up for several reasons, according to a spokeswoman.

"It was delayed, absolutely," said Wendy Fox, a department spokeswoman. "Because we discovered utility lines in places where we didn't know where they were. Because it took the contractor almost a year to find the right kind of sand. And because there were buried storm walls and some drainage issues."

The contractor, S&R Construction of New Hampshire, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Local critics complained that the work faced numerous other setbacks, when subcontractors were diverted to other jobs or rain postponed scheduled painting.

"It just seems like it's been forever," said Richard Herbert, vice president of the Friends of Wollaston Beach, a group formed last summer. "It has been frustrating for us."

"If you would give it a grade, you'd have to give it an incomplete," said state Senator Michael W. Morrissey, a Quincy Democrat who called for financial penalties against the contractor. "I honestly don't think that the quality of the job is really up to the standards it should be."

Despite some yet-to-be-completed sidewalk paving and lines yet to be painted for parking spots, the refurbishing impressed some visitors yesterday.

"I think it's the greatest thing since the Pilgrims came here," raved Charles Abernathy, 76, of Quincy, walking the new path. In the past, he said, the area left "a lot to be desired."

Wollaston Beach has long been beset with pollution that often makes Quincy Bay unhealthy for swimming. A report this year by the Metropolitan Beaches Commission found that among Boston-area beaches in 2005, Wollaston was unsafe for swimming due to elevated bacteria levels more often than any other spot, failing more than 18 percent of water tests.

The problems are largely due to storm sewers. "As you go 2 miles back, anything that flows through the street, whether it's a cigarette or pet waste, can flow through a network of storm drains off the street and out one of the eight outfall pipes onto Wollaston Beach," said Douglas Gutro, president of the Quincy City Council, who helped launch the Friends of Wollaston Beach.

But those problems, too, may be on the mend. Last summer, Wollaston Beach failed the water safety tests 11 percent of the time, according to Fox. And so far this year, only 4 percent of tests have proven problematic, leaving officials optimistic that their sewer improvement efforts are beginning to alleviate problems.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation worked on storm drains along Wollaston Beach, and Quincy launched $11 million in repairs to the aging sewer line running below Quincy Shore Drive that had long been suspected of letting pollution infiltrate the bay.

"It is comforting to know that, just as the new, visible improvements are nearing completion, that water quality is showing signs of improvement as well," Gutro said.

Nothing would sway Kelly Gatautis, 23, of Quincy. "I would [swim] if it were cleaner," she said.

Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at ebbert@globe.com.