Penzel Construction CEO updates aldermen on bridge construction project in Jackson

Phil Penzel, chief executive officer of Jackson-based Penzel Construction, gave an update on his company’s U.S. 61 bridge project at the Jackson mayor and Board of Aldermen meeting Tuesday, Jan. 21.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) first authorized a replacement of the bridge over Hubble Creek in 2023, and Penzel Construction has worked at it for more than a year. Complications arose when an additional section of soil needed to be removed during road renovations leading up to the bridge.

“They (MoDOT) directed us to take out 18 inches of bad soil for the length of the project. From one end to the other, we’re talking about nine-tenths of a mile … that’s not something that’s done overnight,” Penzel said.

That was not originally part of the project, but Penzel credited MoDOT with thinking about the issue when asking for it to be done.

“I think from a city standpoint and from the citizens’ standpoint, they should be thanking them (MoDOT) for going the extra mile to do that,” he said.

Penzel’s team applied a synthetic mesh to stabilize the soil, then added a filter fabric to prevent rocks from disturbing it. Penzel estimated there are only a few days of work remaining, but his company has been waiting for ideal conditions.

In order to follow MoDOT regulations when marking the rebuilt road, he said specialty paint must be applied on days when there is no precipitation and when temperatures are above 50 degrees.

Since these have not been achieved recently, work had stalled. On Tuesday, however, MoDOT reached out to Penzel with a solution.

“MoDOT will now accept a temporary stripe with the regular paint as long as its now 40 degrees out and it does not have to be 40 degrees for eight hours after striping like the permanent ones (markings),” he said. “… So, I guess just pray for 40 degree weather for a while.”

Penzel estimated he could complete temporary markings within the next few weeks.

Other business

The Board of Aldermen approved a task order authorization of $37,000 to 1898 & Co. of Kansas City to provide engineering services under an electric utility rate study.

They also approved a bid from Rockhill and Sons, based in Jackson, for mowing and trimming services at city parks, the Jackson Civic Center and other sites.

A contract with Flock Group of Atlanta for license-plate readers and a master services agreement with Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. of Kansas City for engineering services were also renewed or extended.

Study session

Jason Lipe, the city’s Parks and Recreation director, provided a park board report. He said Zoellner Construction of Perryville will start work on a splash pad soon, weather permitting, with the goal of completing it before Memorial Day on Monday, May 26.

He also said a pavilion had been demolished near the city’s tennis courts and that the park board had approved some increased Civic Center rental rates.

“The biggest factor is just to keep up with minimum wage, to make sure we have competitive rates for our staff,” Lipe said. “… Also, as of Friday, the Civic Center will be 9 years old. A lot of the equipment that we’re using is original to the building, so we’ve had some wear and tear.”

These rates would have to be approved at the Monday, Feb. 3, meeting of the mayor and Board of Aldermen.

Jackson’s building and planning manager Larry Miller informed the aldermen about a memorandum of understanding with a property owner who built a new retaining wall after a tree damaged a previous one on her property.

He said the memorandum of understanding informs her that the wall is too close to the street and if the city needs to work there she’d have to move it.