JERSEY CITY -- Work to reopen traffic lanes on the Pulaski Skyway won't be finished for at least another year, pushing the project's original completion date back by several months, News 4 New York reported Wednesday.

The current phase of the $1 billion project on the span started in April 2014 and was originally expected to take two years. But that deadline was pushed back last year by a severe winter and the discovery that the 80-year-old bridge linking Newark and Jersey City was in much worse shape than officials first realized.

The state Department of Transportation told NJ Advance Media last year that steel beams had deteriorated to the point that they would need to be replaced completely. Engineers did not learn of the problems until concrete was removed during the course of the renovation.

"Because there was additional steel repair we didn't anticipate, it slowed us down a little," a project manager, Scott Thorn, told NJ Advance Media last April.

The DOT said last year that the project would take months longer than first thought, but work is now not quite at the halfway point, News 4 New York reported Wednesday.

The DOT will re-evaluate its timetable in the spring, the station also reported.

All phases of the project, which include other renovations, are scheduled to be finished in 2020.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.