Crews were at work early Tuesday morning setting girders on the Dunklin Street bridge as part of work that has been ongoing since April 2019.
Improvements to the 300-500 blocks of West Dunklin Street in Jefferson City include a new bridge; added bike lanes, sidewalk and greenway trails; and improved stormwater and sanitary sewer systems.
The work was originally meant to be completed in November 2019 but was delayed due to excessive flooding of Wears Creek and other weather issues.
Work resumed at the end of February, and traffic has been closed at Wears Creek so the bridge could be replaced. When work began, City Engineer David Bange estimated the work on the bridge would take two to three months.
As they tore down the old bridge, Bange said, they discovered parts of an even older bridge on site.
Since work resumed, crews have placed a stormwater pipe at the southern end of the bridge and a 30-inch diameter sewer pipe below the flow line of the creek was repaired.
"With the installation of the stormwater pipe and the repair to the sewer, the project is now out of danger of being held up by high water in the creek, which was a big stumbling block in moving the project forward last year," Bange said.
On Tuesday, crews were setting girders, large steel beams used to support the bridge. He said the next step is to place steel forms between the girders and several layers of rebar, then pouring the concrete bridge deck.
As bridge work moves forward, Bange said, the contractor will begin replacing the drive approaches and the curb and guttering along Dunklin Street. Following that will be installing street and crosswalk lights, adding railings to the bridge then a final layer of asphalt over the whole length of the project.
Bange said they anticipate the project will be completed in mid-June.
While the road is closed, access to all businesses in the area is being maintained, with those in the 400 block of West Dunklin Street having access from Broadway Street and the eastern extension of West Dunklin Street. The 500 block has access from Missouri Boulevard.