Cape council OKs $6M contracts for road, bridge projects

The Cape Girardeau City Council approved spending more than $6 million Monday on two major transportation projects that have been on the drawing board for some time.

The council awarded a contract to Lappe Cement Finishing Inc. of Friedheim to widen a section of Bloomfield Road and build a walking trail at a cost of $2.69 million.

Lappe submitted the low bid, city officials said.

The work is expected to take almost a year, with completion slated for 2017.

The project will proceed even as litigation continues with two property owners over compensation for land that has been taken by the city for the project.

At a study session before the meeting, city manager Scott Meyer told the council the city government has been "waiting on that project for awhile."

The project involves road reconstruction and widening a section of Bloomfield Road and constructing an 8-foot-wide walking trail from Benton Hill Road to White Oaks Lane near the Dalhousie Golf Club.

The project also includes 5,090 linear feet of concrete pavement, two precast concrete bridges and storm sewers, city engineer Casey Brunke wrote in a report to the council.

City officials said the project will be funded with transportation trust fund sales tax revenue.

Meyer said another "long-awaited project" is construction of a new bridge on South Sprigg Street over Cape LaCroix Creek.

The $3.37 million project will remove the existing bridge and build a new, longer span.

The council awarded a contract to Robertson Contractors Inc. of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, contingent on approval from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The new bridge is needed because reoccurring sinkholes caused the road approaching the bridge to cave in, Brunke wrote in a report to the council.

South Sprigg Street has been closed since 2013 because of the sinkholes. The new structure is designed to span the sinkhole area, according to Brunke.

Federal funds are expected to pay the bulk of the cost of the project.

But congressional delays in appropriating the money prompted the city to secure a low-interest loan through the Missouri Transportation Finance Corp. so work can proceed while the city is waiting on the federal dollars.

According to city officials, the project is slated for completion by August 2017.

In other business, the council had been expected to hire a St. Louis consultant to update the downtown strategic plan.

City staff, however, withdrew the proposed contract, citing last-minute changes that need to be made to the document.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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