Cole County Public Works officials say the improvement project on Business 50 in Apache Flats is still moving along ahead of schedule by about two weeks despite the rainy weather this week.
"The box culvert replacement has gone smoothly with the first one mostly finished and traffic opened back up Wednesday," said County Engineer Eric Landwehr. "The second one at House of Bargains is expected to be done by today and traffic opened back up for the weekend, weather permitting."
The next big phase of works will mean a closure at Pioneer Trail Drive on Monday.
Traffic on Business 50 will still function as a two-lane road but Pioneer Trail will not be accessible. The detour for this will be Rainbow Drive to Country Club and it is signed.
"We expect traffic to increase at the intersection of Rainbow Drive and Country Club Drive and we will be installing a temporary three-way stop at this intersection on Monday," Landwehr said. "The east and westbound lanes on Country Club Drive (outer road) will have to stop at the intersection. Message boards will be in place and rumble strip warnings will be placed on the pavement for approaching traffic."
Landwehr added that as soon as the weather cooperates, the contractor, Don Schnieders Excavating, will be removing the old roadbed on the north side of the road and begin placing base rock and preparing for curb and gutter.
"The businesses on the north side will be the most affected during this phase," he said. "The contractor will coordinate to provide adequate access to the properties during this phase. If you are affected and have questions or need additional help, please do not hesitate to contact the contractor or our office so we can make sure to address any issues quickly."
The public works office phone number is 573-636-3614. Schnieders phone number is 573-893-2251.
"Also, as soon as the pavement dries out on the east end of the project, temporary pavement markings will be placed on the new three lane section to denote where the lane lines are," Landwehr said. "This will be with temporary tape and will not be permanent. The final permanent asphalt layer will be placed later in the year when all the work is wrapping up and permanent striping will be done at that time."