Roadwork ahead in Jackson

Several streets in Jackson will be getting asphalt overlays this year, and the city will move ahead with a project to re-align the intersection at Oak Hill Road and East Main Street, after action by the Jackson Board of Aldermen at the regular meeting Monday night.

During the study session, public works director Kent Peetz reported to the board about the Missouri Department of Transportation�s plans for overlaying roads in Jackson and Cape Girardeau this year and into 2019.

Starting on U.S. 61, on the west side of Highway 25 and up Jackson Boulevard, skipping center junction, Peetz said, MoDOT will overlay the roadway with new asphalt and widen the roadways by adding shoulders.

That project will continue through Cape Girardeau on Kingshighway, Peetz added.

�They hope to start by the end of July, first part of August,� Peetz said, and MoDOT would complete around Nov. 1.

After that project is complete, he said, MoDOT will start an overlay project on Route K at Kingshighway, then continue toward Gordonville � next spring.

All work will be completed at night, Peetz said, in hopes of mitigating traffic congestion.

Routes D and PP will get a new overlay in another project to be completed sooner, Peetz said, that will include West Main Street between Farmington Street and Jackson Boulevard.

A previous agreement between the City of Jackson and MoDOT will see MoDOT adding the overlay to that segment of Main Street, Peetz said, and the City of Jackson will then take ownership, since Jackson already maintains the rest of Main Street.

Peetz said signs should be out next week or shortly thereafter in advance of the work starting on Route D.

�They hope to have Route D complete to the school area, or city limits, by Aug. 22,� Peetz said, ahead of school beginning.

For about a week beginning on or near July 23, Peetz said, a section of Route D will be shut down to replace a culvert underneath the road.

Peetz added MoDOT will have news releases in advance of each project, but wanted to give the board some advance notice.

In other action, a project is moving forward to re-align the intersection at Oak Hill Road and East Main Street, in advance of adding a traffic-signal light, after the board approved a contract to purchase a 1.12-acre tract from Darrell and Cheryl Rodenberry. The city plans to rebuild a portion of Oak Hill Road on the land, to be purchased for about $42,000, according to city documents.

The intersection does not have four, 90-degree approaches, making traffic control options somewhat limited, according to previous reporting by the Southeast Missourian. A study by Lochmueller Group of St. Louis had recommended against building a roundabout at the intersection, which experiences high traffic volume during peak morning and afternoon hours. Since the approaches are not perpendicular, visibility would be limited in a roundabout, and ultimately the city decided to put in a signal light at the intersection, after doing some realignment work.

Other action

• Board of aldermen regular meetings in September will be held the second and fourth Mondays instead of first and third, because of the Labor Day holiday and the Missouri Municipal League�s annual conference, respectively.
• Grading and site preparation is complete for the North Electric Substation, to be constructed at a later date, Peetz said.
• Mayor Dwain Hahs gave an update on the planned MoDOT Diverging Diamond Interchange Project at center junction.

�We had another good meeting today,� Hahs said of a meeting among two landowners, MoDOT and himself. �I think we�re progressing.�

Hahs said MoDOT is finalizing plans, and he plans to invite MoDOT to the next regular board of aldermen meeting for an update.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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