INDIANAPOLIS (AP): Indiana officials have pushed back by another seven months the deadline for finishing construction on the Interstate 69 extension segment between Bloomington and Martinsville.

The Indiana Finance Authority announced Monday the new completion deadline of May 31, 2018, after saying last month the 21-mile segment was still set to be finished by Oct. 31. The section been plagued by delays since work started in 2014 and was originally scheduled for an October 2016 completion.

The state agency says it will make $28 million in early payments to the company it selected to design, build and maintain the highway section. Those payments to I-69 Development Partners and contractor Isolux Corsan LLC weren’t due until the work was completed.

Officials say that will provide the necessary funding to complete the project.