Portions of Dunklin and Lafayette streets will close Monday as Jefferson City begins reconstructing the intersection ahead of the Lafayette Street interchange project.
Dunklin Street, between Chestnut and Marshall streets, and Lafayette Street, between Elm and Roland streets, will be closed beginning at 8:30 a.m. Monday.
The closure will allow for intersection improvements at Lafayette and Dunklin streets, which is a city/county project.
The intersection reconstruction will be done by JC Industries, who came in with a bid of $1,087,707. Of that, $788,082 is for street and signal work and will be split between the county and city's half-cent sales taxes. The remaining $299,624 is for sewer improvement work that will be done in the area and paid for by the city.
Weather and construction progress permitting, work is expected to be completed in mid-August, in time for the fall semester at Lincoln University.
Detour signage will be posted in the area, but the main detour route will be Chestnut Street, which
temporarily will be made into a two-way street for the project.
Motorists are urged to use extreme caution during the street closures and are encouraged to avoid the area, if possible.
The intersection improvements are meant to help handle added detour traffic when construction begins on the new Lafayette Street interchange with the U.S. 50-63 Expressway, which is expected to cost $18 million and be funded through MoDOT. The project calls for a new 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.
MoDOT will hold a community briefing on the Lafayette Street interchange project from 4-6 p.m. tonight in Pleus Hall of the Immaculate Conception Church, located at 1206 E. McCarty St. The briefing will include formal presentations at 4:30 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. and various project displays. The public is encouraged to ask questions and provide input on the project, which is expected to begin either at the end of this year or the start of next year.