Traffic improvements are in the works near U.S. 54 and Stadium Boulevard in anticipation of the Capital Region Medical Center expansion with hopes of relieving congestion issues in the area during the morning commute.
A traffic study has been done by George Butler and Associates out of Kansas City for improvements at Monroe Street to access Capital Region.
David Bange, Jefferson City engineer, said the plan would make Monroe a two-way street from Woodlawn Avenue down to Stadium Boulevard. It currently is one-way southbound.
"We also have a traffic signal planned at Monroe and Stadium, and widening Stadium to make it five lanes for left-turn pockets," Bange said.
On the other side of 54 at the Jefferson and Stadium intersection, a dual-lane roundabout would be put in with a right-hand slip lane coming off the 54 exit ramp through Stadium to Christy Drive. There would also be widening of Stadium back to the Trinity Lutheran Church driveway.
"This would be a Jefferson City/Cole County funded project with money coming from each entity's capital improvement sales taxes," Bange said. "Initially, we were looking at the city and county each putting in $1.2 million, and we also are looking to get $778,000 from state road funds."
Bange said the Monroe Street part of the project could happen by the end of next summer. The Jefferson/Stadium roundabout could come in the summer 2016, he said, depending on the progress of the Lafayette Street interchange project on U.S. 50, which may require some coordination of work.
U.S. 50 interchange construction schedule
The City Council recently approved using capital improvement sales tax money for the Lafayette Interchange Enhancement Plan.
It was earlier announced that the city would pay for this project by taking $500,000 from the capital improvements sales tax funds dedicated to improvements at the old Missouri State Penitentiary, which the council had approved setting aside $1 million for.
Cole County has approved a $1 million contribution for the enhancements.
The Lafayette interchange itself, which is expected to cost $18 million, will be funded through MoDOT.
The project calls for a new diamond interchange at U.S. 50 and Lafayette Street and adding a lane in each direction from Monroe Street to Lafayette Street and from Lafayette to Clark Avenue.
The enhancements funded by the city and county will be done on the Jackson Street, Chestnut Street and Lafayette Street bridges. These include pylons, lights, railings and a retaining wall at the rock cut with Jackson Street.
The project is supposed to go out to bid next month, with a contract awarded in September and construction starting in December.
Construction should be done throughout a two-year period. It will be done in about six phases that intermittently close Chestnut Street, Jackson Street, Lafayette Street and Clark Avenue, as well as permanently close Elm Street.
• Phase 1: The first phase of the project will include permanently closing the Elm Street and Lafayette Street intersection, making Elm Street a dead end on both sides of Lafayette Street. It will close greenways in the area near Lafayette Street, and close portions of Chestnut Street and Jackson Street. During this phase, U.S. 50-63 will be completely closed for one weekend to allow for the construction of new bridges at Chestnut Street and Jackson Street. This phase is estimated to begin in December and finish in April 2015.
• Phase 2: Chestnut Street will reopen in the second phase, while Jackson Street will remain closed. There will be a westbound detour to McCarty Street and the westbound ramp on Clark Avenue will be closed. The westbound ramp at Lafayette will open during this phase, which is estimated to begin in May 2015 and finish in August 2015.
• Phase 3: Lafayette Street will be closed between Miller Street and the expressway ramps during this phase, and Jackson Street will remain closed. This phase is estimated to begin in September 2015 and end in December 2015.
• Phase 4: This phase is extremely similar to phase three, with the same streets closed, but some of the expressway traffic shifting to allow highway construction. This phase is estimated to begin in January 2016 and end in May 2016.
• Phase 5: Jackson Street will reopen in this phase, but a large portion of Lafayette Street will close to allow for reconstruction of the street. The Lafayette Street ramps will be closed during this phase, which is estimated to begin in June 2016 and end in August 2016.
• Phase 6: The Lafayette Street interchange will be fully open beginning in this phase, while the Clark Avenue bridge will be closed for rehab, though the Clark Avenue ramps will remain open. This final phase is estimated to begin in September 2016 and end in December 2016.