Jackson roundabout on schedule, on budget

The wave of early anxiety that surrounded Jackson’s uptown roundabout appears to have broken over the weekend as crews completed the project’s first phase on schedule, reopening Barton Street on Friday.

Because the process has been less painful than expected so far, many of the parties most invested in the project are increasingly optimistic the final outcome may be better than anticipated, as well.

Brian Okenfuss, area engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation, said construction so far has been exceptionally smooth, with crews hitting their July 15 deadline while making significant progress on the other parts of the project.

“They still have a little bit of work going on on the sides of Barton,” he said. “But by the end of the week, they’re going to start paving the oval.”

The lighting elements, designed to be aesthetically consistent with the rest of uptown, should be finished within the next two weeks, Okenfuss said.

Progress is seen Monday at the roundabout project in uptown Jackson.Fred Lynch

And in addition to being on schedule, the project also is effectively on budget.

“I don’t think there have been any large change orders that I’m aware of,” Okenfuss said. “A lot of times, throughout a project, you’ll be over on one item and under on another, but it mostly comes out in a wash.”

Jackson Mayor Dwain Hahs said communication among the city, MoDOT engineers and the contractor, Fronabarger Concreters Inc., is one of the foremost reasons for the project’s success so far.

“We’re very pleased that [the project] is on time, and we’re certainly pleased with the work being done,” he said. “A lot of that’s to do with Fronabarger; they’ve been very good to work with.”

Okenfuss said only one minor problem had arisen so far — a retaining wall that later was deemed unnecessary.

The matter was arbitrated quickly.

“Anytime we’ve seen an issue ... we’ve pretty well got it taken care of,” Okenfuss said. “We couldn’t be happier with how that arrangement has been going.”

While Barton Street isn’t necessarily a major thoroughfare for uptown, its reopening should provide a measure of congestion relief. More importantly, however, is it now is available for Jackson’s Homecomers festivities, as promised. Homecomers begins July 26.

Larry Koehler, a Homecomers organizer, said Barton Street’s opening is a big relief.

“We’ve been using that area of Barton Street and Main Street as well, for ... well, Homecomers is over 100 years old now,” He said. “If we were to lose that [area of Barton Street], we’re talking carnival rides and vendors, where do you put those things then?”

Luckily, the only new thing he’ll have to account for is a marginal change in Barton Street’s gradient.

“The city assured us that it would be done, and it is, so here we are,” he said, adding continued construction on the main portion of the roundabout will not affect Homecomers in any way.

Even business owners such as Lisa Walker, co-owner of High Street Station, are overcoming their apprehension for the project and seeing it as a positive step for uptown’s economy.

“My fear was that it was going to be a ghost town for four months,” she said.

But that hasn’t happened. Most of the uptown businesses have joined in a Roundabout Rewards program in the hope it would spur foot traffic. So far, it’s worked, Walker said. Several hundred shoppers have participated in the promotion.

“I think it’s really helped us through what could have been a really slow time,” she said. “It’s all good in the neighborhood.”

Between the Uptown Merchants’ rewards program and the city’s directional signs, the Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization also had a hand in working to maximize the positive effects of the project.

Bob Schooley, Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization president, said in addition to the project going well, it’s only getting better as it progresses.

The city has agreed to provide up to $77,000 for the addition of native limestone facades to several elements of the roundabout to match surrounding structures. There are other upgrades that likely will be ready for announcement in the coming weeks.

The Jackson community has responded so well, in fact, the city has been named a semifinalist for an excellence award at the upcoming Missouri Main Street Connection conference.

“If people can look at it positively, this [project] is a good thing,” Schooley said. “It’s going to look beautiful.”

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627