On Monday, Cape Girardeau City Council approved an agreement with a contractor to carry out various stormwater drainage and sewer improvements near the intersection of Broadway and Penny Avenue.

Crews will replace existing storm sewer piping and install a new 7-foot-by-4-foot concrete box culvert extension in addition to a new underground stormwater retention system.

The project will ultimately increase the area's capacity for stormwater collection, according to Casey Brunke, interim community development director for the City of Cape Girardeau.

"We're trying to alleviate some of the street flooding issues we have in the area," Brunke said.

Brunke later added, "If we upsize the pipes underground, it holds more water, so it would take a larger rain event to flood the street than it typically would."

Work may begin sometime this summer, but the start date depends on how long it will take for the contractor to receive materials, according to Brunke.

The city's agreement with the contractor, Nip Kelly Equipment Company Inc., stipulates requirements on when the contractor must start and finish work.

Brunke said this was made in an effort to ensure speedy completion and to avoid a portion of Broadway from being closed for long periods of time.

According to the city's agreement with Nip Kelly Equipment, work on Broadway must be completed within two weeks. A portion of Broadway just east of Sunset Boulevard to just west of Penny Avenue may be completely closed to traffic.

Nip Kelly Equipment has 30 days to order materials after they receive notice the city has awarded them the contract. These notices are typically issued within 30 days of Council's approval, Brunke said.

The contractor then has 60 days to "substantially complete" the project once all materials arrive. Work must be completed within 90 days.

On Monday, Council approved a $752, 628 bid from Nip Kelly Equipment to carry out the project. The company also performed the Good Hope Street stormwater improvements project last year.

The city first put this project out to bid in October, however all bids received were significantly higher than the city's original estimate of construction cost, according to an agenda report written by city engineer Amy Ferris.

The project was later rebid and Nip Kelly Equipment provided the lowest bid.

This project is one of several to be funded through the Parks, Recreation and Stormwater Phase 2 (PRS2) tax initiative renewal. Voters renewed the 3/8th cent sales tax in 2019.

Projects planned to be funded through the tax include the recently-approved Capaha Park pond dredging project.