Improvements to a stretch of East High Street will soon be underway, following the approval of a construction contract by the Jefferson City Council on Monday night.
The contract with Aplex Inc., which is not to exceed $2,413,874, would pay for improvements and reconstruction of sidewalks in the area, as well as retaining walls and storm sewers.
Improvements will take place along several blocks of East High Street, from Locust Street to the intersection with East McCarty Street, or the 1100-1500 blocks.
Department of Public Works Director Matt Morasch said the project primarily includes replacing sidewalks, but more work comes along with that.
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"If you go down that stretch of East High, there's a lot of retaining walls over there," Morasch said. "A lot of that will have to be replaced because of the sidewalk repair, and they're in bad shape."
Other work will include some storm gutter repairs, a new crosswalk signal by East Elementary School and replacing some wastewater lines.
Morasch said they anticipate work to begin before or in March, depending on the contractor and the weather. During the work, occasional road closures may take place. He said they expect the work to be done by the fall.
Morasch said part of the funding for the project will come from the waste water fund, and the rest will come from the city and Cole County's half cent sales tax and road and bridge fund.
A supplemental appropriation for the funds to be split between the city and county was introduced to council Monday.
Also on Monday, council approved a construction contract for stabilization work on the Missouri River bank. The contract with Capital Paving and Construction LLC is for $1,033,710.
Morasch said a 36-inch pipe containing raw sewage that runs along the river near the railroad tracks is close to becoming exposed due to erosion.
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"Over time, and especially this last year with the flooding, the bank has eroded on top where this pipe is," Morasch said. "I don't believe it's exposed yet, but it's very close. Something like that could cause the pipe to rupture, and that would be a bad deal for everyone."
To prevent this, Capital Paving and Construction LLC will place large boulders along the river bank to stabilize it. Morasch said they hope to do this from a barge on the river, to avoid working over the railway.
Morasch said they hope to start this work as soon as possible, to make sure the pipe is not exposed. Funding for the project comes from the wastewater fund.
In other business Monday, the council approved a contract with Burns & McDonnell to design replacement airfield lighting at Jefferson City Memorial Airport.
Operations Division Director Britt Smith said the field lights were installed in 2016 but need to be replaced due to damage from the flooding this spring.
Currently staff plan to pay for the project using the airport portion of the Capital Improvement Sales Tax funds, but they also plan to pursue possible grant funding, which could cover up to 100 percent of the project.