Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City engineering outlines Connector Road and 17th Street designs, flags budget and right‑of‑way needs
Summary
City staff presented updated designs for the Connector Road and 17th Street projects, reported MoDOT review is pending, and said refined construction estimates will require phased bidding and right‑of‑way appraisals before the city seeks contractors.
City engineering staff presented updated maps and design details for the Connector Road and 17th Street projects and told the council the work has moved from conceptual plans into a design phase that will refine costs and require right‑of‑way work before bids are issued.
Kevin, the city’s engineering presenter, said the traffic study has been submitted to MoDOT and the city is awaiting formal comments. "The plan and traffic study has been submitted to MoDOT for viewing comments and we're awaiting their response," he said. He described culvert crossings and a hill that requires the road to drop and curve to create parking and access to nearby ball fields.
Staff emphasized the projects are expensive in their current design and that estimates prepared at the conceptual stage rose after detailed drawings. Kevin recommended the city pursue phased work — separating dirt/base packages from asphalt — and said staff is exploring piggybacking on Blevins' MoDOT contract to use the contractor's lower asphalt unit prices. "Since they have a MoDOT contract, we can actually piggyback off of those numbers, which greatly helps improve our numbers in the estimate," he said.
Council and staff discussed utility constraints, including a water booster station, pressure sewer, and electric lines, and how the alignment would avoid moving poles or interfering with water and sewer infrastructure. Staff reported one property owner has signaled willingness to donate right‑of‑way and appraisals are lined up to clarify acquisition costs.
On schedule, staff said the city could be ready to go to bid on the connector segment as early as September if right‑of‑way appraisals and MoDOT comments are resolved. For Chapel Drive, staff confirmed bid opening on July 16 with work to start around July 17.
The council did not take final action on engineering items but asked staff to return with refined costings and right‑of‑way estimates at the next work session.
