As work continues on road and bridge repairs in the 400 block of Dunklin Street in Jefferson City, infrastructure work is also taking place below the street.
Missouri American Water is putting in a new water main at Missouri Boulevard and Dunklin Street, as the mains in the area are nearly 100 years old, Missouri American Water spokesman Brian Russell said.
"We're replacing 2,500 feet of water main and upsizing the main from 8- to 10-inch pipes with new 12-inch pipes to increase the capacity," Russell said. "This main connects to a 16-inch main at Jefferson Street and Dunklin Street, which is a main artery for our system here in Jefferson City."
Jefferson City and Cole County are partnering on the $2.6 million project street and bridge project in the area. The Dunklin Street bridge will be replaced, along with improvements to the stormwater and sanitary sewer system in the area. Bike lanes, a sidewalk and a greenway trail along Dunklin Street will also be added.
The new bridge will be a single-span steel girder bridge, 90 feet long and 56 feet wide, containing two lanes of traffic. Dunklin Street, from the bridge to Broadway Street, will be 38 feet wide, with a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the western side of Missouri Boulevard to Broadway Street.
The greenway will run along the eastern side of Missouri Boulevard to Mulberry Street, with the remaining distance to Broadway Street being a 5-foot-wide sidewalk.
Later this year, Missouri American Water plans to do more improvement work at its water treatment plant on West Main Street, Russell said. The plant draws water from the Missouri River and has the capacity to treat approximately 6.5 million gallons daily.
"The work there will cost us around $3 million," Russell said. "We've got $5.2 million on various other improvements around town; $3 million of that amount will be for water main improvements. One of the bigger main projects will be at Dix Road and Missouri Boulevard, where a break in October 2017 caused problems for our customers and vehicle traffic going through the area. We did make repairs and repaved the road last year, but the main still needs a full replacement. So what we'll do is bore under the road and make the repairs so we won't affect traffic and repaving."
Another big project will be on Boonville Road, where Missouri American Water will work on service from Wayne Avenue to Norris Drive, Russell said.
Fire hydrants are being added at locations across town, with Missouri American Water working with the Jefferson City Fire Department, to add to the city's fire protection capabilities.
"Every time we do a project, we get with the fire department; and if they want hydrants added, we add them," Russell said. "We added one last year on Fillmore Street when we replaced a main there."
Missouri American Water maintains 1,048 fire hydrants and more than 147 miles of water mains, he said. The company serves approximately 10,800 homes in the city.