Two Bollinger County road projects approved by state's Highway Commission

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded contracts for the Southeast District during its regular meeting on Feb. 5.

Contracts included pavement preservation treatments, construction of a roundabout, bridge rehabilitations, pavement resurfacing, and bridge and pipe replacements.

Contracts for Bollinger County improvements, include the following:

Rumble stripes on Highway N

A $3,147,556 contract was awarded to Apex Paving Co., for pavement preservation and the addition of rumble stripes on Route N from Route 51 in Bollinger County to Route 25 in Cape Girardeau County. The work includes approximately 17.37 miles of roadway,

The specific Highway N, or State Supplemental Route-N, project constructs a 2-foot-wide shoulder on each side of the road, according to MoDOT officials. Then, once the shoulder improvement is completed, a rumble strip will be cut in the new shoulder.

"With limited funding, we work with traffic data and our local planning partners to identify routes for rumble stripe projects," said Nicole Thieret, communications manager for MoDOT's Southeast District. "This project was identified as a need by our Planning Partners at the SEMO RPC."

The earliest occurrences of the usage of the shoulder rumble striping in Missouri is 2009.

"The goal is to increase safety," Thieret said.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, shoulder rumble strips are proven countermeasures for reducing roadway departure crashes.

As part of a 2023 study, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration reported there was a 36% reduction "in crash frequency from before to after rumble strip implementation."

Routes in Bollinger County that currently feature rumble stripes include Highways 51, 72, 34, and Route C.

The MoDOT average annual daily traffic count for 2023 on Highway N from Highway 51 to Leopold is about 600 while the count from Leopold to the Bollinger County line is closer to 300 vehicles.

Patton Junction

A $2,720,537 contract was awarded to Fronabarger Concreters Inc., for the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of Routes 72 and 51 in Bollinger County.

This location is referred to as the "Patton Junction".

Construction will likely begin this construction season. As soon as MoDOT gets the final work plans and it completes the pre-construction process, they hope to provide an additional update informing the public when to anticipate work to start on this project.

A public meeting regarding the Highway 51/72 intersection project was held in July 2024.

Additional Southeast District projects

A $16,454,288 contract was to Concrete Strategies, LLC, for a bridge rehabilitation on the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge on Route 74 in Cape Girardeau County crossing the Mississippi River.

A $1,847,000 contract was awarded to West Plains Bridge & Grading, LLC, for a bridge rehabilitation over the Roubidoux Creek on Route 17 in Texas County.

A $1,809,931 contract was awarded to Apex Paving Co., for resurfacing Route M from Route A to Interstate 55 in Scott County.

A $3,964,000 contract was awarded to West Plains Bridge & Grading, LLC, for bridge replacements in three locations on Route 137 in Texas County.

The bridge replacements include:

A bridge replacement over Pine Creek,

A bridge replacement over Big Creek, and;

A bridge replacement over South Prong Jacks Fork.

A $187,148 contract was awarded to Courtney Construction, LLC, for a pipe replacement three miles east of Route E on U.S. 60 in Wright County.

A $2,238,172 contract was awarded to Apex Paving Co., for pavement preservation treatments on the following routes:

Route Y in Stoddard County from two miles east of Route 25 to Kingshighway in Sikeston, Missouri, in Scott County,

Route WW from Route 53 to Route J in Dunklin County,

Route N from Route 412 to Route 164 in Dunklin County,

Route D from Route 25 to Route 61 in Dunklin County,

Route U from Route D to Route 61 in New Madrid County,

Route H from Route 77 to Route U in Scott County, and;

Route E from Route 77 to Commerce, Missouri, in Scott County.

A $187,954 contract was awarded to Apex Paving Co., for a pavement preservation treatment on Route F from Route 412 to the Arkansas State line in Dunklin County.

Additional information, regarding timelines and impacts to traffic, will be released prior to the start of construction.