Contractor for Jackson's US 61 bridge project expects work to be finished by March

Following more than a year of construction, the U.S. 61 bridge project in Jackson is slated for completion in the coming months, weather permitting.

Penzel Construction of Jackson, the general contractor, began work in early October 2023. The project was supposed to be finished by November 2024, but Phil Penzel, the company’s chief executive officer, said additional construction and inclement weather have delayed it until March of this year.

“All the stars have to line up here. If one star is out of line, we’ve got to wait until they all line up the next time,” he said.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has overseen the project with the goal of replacing a bridge over Hubble Creek and improving the surrounding stretch of road.

Access from Independence Street south to the Main Street roundabout has been limited to only residents of those blocks since construction began.

The project's price tag was originally around $7.09 million, though because of the increased workload, that amount has since risen to some $8.15 million.

“Once we removed all the pavement that was associated with our project, MoDOT paid us above and beyond our contract amount to ... improve the base under the driving surface,” Penzel said. “... For every day we worked on it, that day got added to the end of our contract.”

Crews had to dig deeper than originally intended to add a geo-grid reinforcing fabric and filter fabric, stabilizing parts of the road that were settling unevenly. They then added crushed stone to build back to the subgrade where concrete could finally be poured.

“At the beginning, we were delayed I think a couple months due to waiting on utilities to be moved and relocated ... and then we had to do a lot of extra work because none of the soil underneath the existing pavement was good on the entire project,” project manager Corby Renaud said.

The concrete has been poured in, but must be properly marked before motorists can use it.

“The main thing we’re waiting on is good weather so we can stripe the turn lanes. With the products we use in our industry, you have to have good temperatures for an extended period of time in order to stripe with the reflective paint that you use,” Penzel said.

A subcontractor, St. Charles’ TraMar Contracting, will use preformed thermoplastic pavement markers and waterborne pavement marking paint to add turn lanes to U.S. 61.

MoDOT regulations require the paint to use Type P beads to give it a reflective coating so drivers can see the markings in low light.

Renaud said the road must be completely dry before markings can be applied. To get the paint to take to the road requires several consecutive days’ worth of high temperatures and clear skies.

“It’s not everyday stuff here. This is complicated technology and if you don’t do it exactly right, it will fail and you’ll have to do it again,” Penzel said.

Over the last 15 months, workers have replaced the bridge, widened the road and adjusted the road’s incline.

Penzel estimated the project would have been done by the end of 2024 were it not for inclement weather. He said the company faces liquidated damages if it cannot complete the project by the end of its contract, plus any additions because of weather delays.

“Contractually, we have every obligation to pursue this at a high rate of speed, but with quality,” he said.

Though the contract has an extended deadline until March because of the additional stabilizing work his team did, Penzel said it could still be extended in the case of significant rain or snow.

“We thank the public for their patience on this and we are doing the best we can to get this thing completed,” he said.