Cole County commissioners were updated Tuesday on four joint public projects with Jefferson City.
Completion of the Dunklin Street bridge construction should be done in about a month, commissioners were told.
Work on this project 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 it 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.
Jefferson City Engineer David Bange said the initial plan when work began again was to have the project completed by June 15.
"While the bridge is nearly complete, it is apparent that our contractor will not be completed by that time," Bange said. "It is now estimated that the project could be complete by the middle of July."
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.
The second cooperative project between the city and county is improvements on East High Street.
The improvements go along several blocks of East High, from Locust Street to its intersection with East McCarty Street, or the 1100-1500 blocks. Sidewalks, retaining walls and storm sewers are among the improvements, along with a new crosswalk signal at East School as well as the sewer line and stormwater replacement.
Bange told commissioners the project appears to be on track. The next milestone, he said, is to be past the East Elementary School driveway by the start of the school year.
"Up until now, the focus has been on the construction of the sewer and stormwater systems and a portion of the retaining walls," he said. "New water lines are also being placed in conjunction with this project under a separate contract issued by Missouri American Water."
It's anticipated, depending on the contractor and weather conditions, that the work will be completed by the fall.
The third cooperative project is construction of Clark Avenue roundabouts. Bange said the design of this project continues with the main focus as of late being on the positioning of the roundabout at Clark and Dunklin.
"The existing grade of western leg of Dunklin Street is creating a number of design challenges," Bange said. "We look to have right-of-way plans for this project ready by the end of the summer."
The fourth cooperative project is the development of the old Missouri State Penitentiary. Bange noted the City Council voted last week to move forward with the development plan offered by a St. Louis-based group made up of Chesterfield Hotels, architecture and design firm Arcturis, Peckham Architecture and Central Missouri Professional Services.
He also said the city has applied for a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration that could cover some costs of some infrastructure improvements.
"By the end of the year, the agreement should be hammered out with the developer, and we should have been notified about whether we or not we get the grant," Bange said. "At that time, it will be more clear how we will be able to proceed."