Contractor eager to start Route W project after delays, MoDOT says

Blue and red flags line Route W in Cape Girardeau, signs that work has begun on a project to add shoulders along four miles of the road from Lexington Avenue to LaSalle Avenue.

The project, financed with federal stimulus money approved last year, has seen a difficult launch, first when bids came in well over budget and more recently when bad weather delayed projected start dates in November and again in early February.

Utility relocations are underway, signs have been placed and the next step will be for a subcontractor to begin dirt work required before the 3-foot shoulders can be added to each side of the road, said Allen Friedrich, Missouri Department of Transportation program manager.

"It is all dependent on what the weather does right now," Friedrich said. "They would like to go to work."

Apex Paving Co. of Cape Girardeau won the $2.35 million contract in early October. Along with shoulders, the project calls for upgrading two drainage culverts, both of which will close Route W for up to two weeks. One culvert three-tenths of a mile south of County Road 618 will be replaced, while the drainage culvert near the intersection with County Road 620 will be extended.

That work will be among the first parts of the project to be done.

Business owners along the road welcome the work despite the potential disruptions. Jake Urhahn, who operates Jake's Lawn & Garden Services, said traffic along Route W has increased quite a bit since the completion of LaSalle Avenue, which connects the road to Interstate 55.

"It definitely needs to be widened," Urhahn said.

The road has other problems that the widening project won't solve, Urhahn said. For example, he asked that MoDOT smooth out some hills for better visibility but was told there wasn't any money available in the budget for that. To go left from his driveway entrance at 5143 Route W, Urhahn said, he usually must turn right when he is pulling a trailer, then turn around at a safer place along the road.

Just up the road at LeGrand Brothers Transmissions, 4340 Route W, Dave LeGrand said he would like to see speed limits reduced to 45 mph on the increasingly busy road.

"We've had some folks here having trouble pulling out of our lot," LeGrand said.

LeGrand said he has printed some signs to direct customers around road closures, which he anticipates will be the most disruptive aspect of the project except when work is taking place near his business.

Throughout construction, lane closures that will restrict traffic to one direction will be in place.

Residents and businesses will also have to put up with a disruption in mail service. Temporary mail boxes will be placed near businesses near the Lexington Avenue intersection.

Originally projected to cost $2.2 million, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in July rejected bids that overshot that mark by at least $600,000. The new contract allows Apex Paving until Dec. 1 to complete the work, but MoDOT hopes it will be completed earlier, Friedrich said.

For LeGrand, the sooner the better. "Overall, I am really, really happy it is going on," he said. "I am happy it is happening, but I will be even happier when it is done."

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent addresses:

5143 State Highway W, Cape Girardeau, MO

4340 State Highway W, Cape Girardeau, MO