Work to build a new four-lane highway on U.S. 50 in Osage County will begin in October.
Under the project, which the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission awarded Wednesday, approximately 6.6 miles of 50, from the U.S. 50/63 junction to County Road 604 west of Linn, will be relocated and widened to four lanes.
The project also includes building two bridges as a result of the new highway alignment.
The $25.5 million project was awarded to Iron Mountain Construction Services.
Work is expected to begin in late October and to be completed by September 2014.
Also as part of a separate project that will be bid at a later date, the old section of U.S. 50 from Route A to County Road 604 will be resurfaced and turned over to Osage County.
Lane closures are expected to be minimal during construction because the highway will be built on a new alignment.
"The new realignment will remove many of the hills, curves and access points drivers currently experience, greatly improving safety and traffic flow on this stretch of Highway 50," said the MoDOT's Central District Design Engineer Nicole Hood.
Hood also noted the project is one of the last new major construction projects planned for the central Missouri area because a severe decline in funding for transportation means MoDOT is unable to tackle many of the larger projects that enhance the state's transportation system.
In other news from the commission meeting, they approved a $1 million project to resurface two sections of U.S. 50 in Cole County and the Dix Road overpass in Jefferson City.
The westbound lanes of 50 from Apache Flats to St. Martins will be resurfaced, as will the eastbound lanes from St. Martins to Country Club Drive.
The work will last about a week and will take place at night, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The Dix Road overpass will take about two days to resurface.
That work, which will close one lane of the bridge at a time, will also take place at night, from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
APAC Missouri, the contractor on the resurfacing projects, is scheduled to begin the work in early October and be finished by Nov. 15.