The Missouri Department of Transportation has designed a plan for repairing the railroad crossing at Jackson Boulevard and Hope Street in Jackson.

MoDOT's Jeff Wachter presented the proposed detour and timetable to the Jackson Board of Aldermen during a study session last week.

Wachter said MoDOT has been working on the project with Iron Mountain Railroad for about a year, and a final review will be completed by the end of December.

The repairs will entail tearing out the current rail, concrete panels and ballast and installing new ones.

The $200,000 project is being funded by MoDOT, and Wachter said repairs would last for several decades.

"I would think it would last 30 to 40 years," he said.

Pre-bidding is expected to begin in January, bidding in late February and construction in March or April, Wachter said.

MoDOT has prioritized finishing railroad crossing to minimize interruption to a coming roundabout project in uptown Jackson, scheduled for construction in summer or fall 2016.

May 15 has been designated the completion deadline for the railroad crossing, and Bowen Engineering has provided its services in planning the project and detour.

The detour would funnel northbound traffic on Hope Street along East Jackson Boulevard to Shawnee Boulevard, west along East Main Street and back to Hope Street and vice versa.

MoDOT message boards and other signs are expected to go up four days before construction begins to avoid confusion.

"We'll contact major trucking companies and first responders beforehand," Wachter said, "to make sure they know what's going on."

MoDOT hopes to finish the project in an 18-hour window between 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at a date to be determined later.

Wachter said MoDOT figures indicate from 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles move through the intersection daily.

The agency chose the Saturday-Sunday time frame to minimize delays and inconvenience.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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