Broadway corridor project set to start Monday

Construction of the now $4.5 million Broadway corridor project will commence Monday, a surprisingly quick start for the work that will begin exactly one week after the contract was awarded. Cape Girardeau's city and economic development officials said they were delighted by the news but admitted it did leave them scrambling to get the word out in time for affected business owners and drivers to prepare.

Fronabarger Concreters Inc. will move east to west, starting with a two-block stretch that runs from Water Street to Spanish Street, said city engineer Casey Brunke. That section is the only part that does not include the project's north-side 15-foot-wide sidewalk, but it does entail removing the existing street and putting in new curbs and gutters, she said.

"The first part of the project is not going to be as intense as the other blocks," she said. "So it's a good place for them to start and get their feet wet to progress throughout the rest of the project."

The other piece of good news, Brunke said, is that traffic interruptions are not expected for the first phase. Broadway is a truck route between Spanish and Main streets, she said, so the extended sidewalk could not be put along that stretch. But that does leave the contractors enough room to work without a traffic shutdown.

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved Fronabarger's low bid April 3, despite the fact that it was $863,000 more than original estimates. The project calls for building a "decorative streetscape" from Pacific to Water streets, which includes pavers, colored concrete, pedestrian lighting and landscaping. Work on the "pedestrian promenade" -- what city officials are calling the 15-foot-wide sidewalks -- will begin with the next section from Spanish Street on to the end of the project at Pacific Street.

City officials said they approved the project because they knew the restrictions put on the contractor would drive up the price, especially if they wanted to keep the work from hurting business owners as well as get the project completed ahead of the completion of Isle of Capri's $125 million casino under construction a few blocks away.

While city officials wanted the project to get started soon, they didn't think it would be this soon.

"The contractor has been working very well with us in getting all the required paperwork into us," Brunke said. "He's very aware of the tight time schedule we're on. He's ready to go and we've given him notice to proceed on Monday."

Fronabarger's project manager on the job, vice president David McMullin, agreed it would have been faster if the Oak Ridge-based company could close down the length of the street to do the job. But they understand the city is concerned about what lengthy traffic shutdowns would mean for the business owners' bottom line.

Construction can be tough on businesses, McMullin said, especially those that rely on foot traffic. That's why the contract requires that the company can only work on a maximum of two blocks at a time. Once any section is closed to traffic, he said, whether it's a half-block or two full blocks, the company has 21 days to get that portion reopened to traffic. If not, Fronabarger will be required to pay $10,000 a day for every day the section remains closed.

The company didn't build penalties into the contract -- McMullin said that would be bad business -- but he and the subcontractors did assume "a pretty extensive amount" of overtime. In later phases, there will be a couple of months that require two shifts and overnight work, which McMullin said will cost a premium.

But the time constraints will be doable, McMullin said, although he said it will create a challenge, especially when so much is unknown, such as utility work, weather, etc. With Isle ahead of schedule and saying it will open by late November, the contract calls for the bulk of the project to be finished by Nov. 5. By that date, only some lighting, landscaping and irrigation will remain incomplete.

"On paper, it looks doable," McMullin said. "But when you run into those unknowns, especially in an older part of town, no one knows for sure."

McMullin said that the job is the highest-dollar project in the company's history.

"A lot of the reason is that it's a streetscape project unlike anything Cape's ever seen before," he said. "So the volume of work is not necessarily there, but the components that go into it are expensive. ... Nobody wants to be the contractor that's holding up a project, especially a high-profile project like this one."

Getting the word out

The quicker start was welcomed, but it did cause a group trying to keep business owners and drivers aware to scurry trying to get the word out. The group is made up of members of the media, Old Town Cape, city officials and the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

The city mailed letters Friday to property and business owners along the project's scope making them aware that the project starts Monday. McMullin personally talked to the business owners along the first stretch of the project, including the owners of the gift shop Renaissance, Buckner Brewing Co. and the Pour House.

Old Town Cape, an agency dedicated to downtown revitalization, sent out emails to its business members. A new website was quickly finished and went online at www.buildingabetterbroadway.com. The website shows which stage the project is in and will be adjusted as the work progresses to include street closures and which businesses are in those areas so the public knows they are still open, said Tim Arbeiter, the chamber's vice president of community development. The group wants to have as much information online as possible so the public can be fully informed, he said.

Businesses along or near the project were largely supportive of Broadway's reconstruction.

"We're excited about it," said Mike Yaeger, who owns Renaissance with his wife, Sheri, at the corner of Broadway and Main Street. "It will add a whole new look and enhance the corridor coming into our downtown. From what they say, at least our part is going to be smooth and quick."

But he said he was a bit worried about what the work will mean for Renaissance.

"There's always concerns when people can't get here," he said. "But hopefully people will make an effort. It will be worth the sacrifice, I hope."

Kent Zickfield, owner of Zickfield's Jewelers and Gifts on Main Street, said he was wholeheartedly behind the project and thought it would eventually drive more traffic to the downtown area in conjunction with the new casino opening.

"As far as the inconvenience," he said, "that's just something you have to accept when they're working on something new."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Broadway and Water Street, Cape Girardeau, MO

Broadway and Pacific Street, Cape Girardeau, MO