Lexington roundabout set to open sooner than planned

For motorists making their way through the maze of orange cones around the construction of a roundabout on Lexington Avenue, Friday the 13th may actually be a lucky day.

According to Missouri Department of Transportation resident engineer Brian Holt, Sept. 13 is the estimated completion date for the multilane roundabout, at the Route W/Lexington/Kings­way Drive intersection.

The original completion date was Oct. 1.

Fronabarger Concreters Inc. of Oak Ridge was awarded the $1,465,295 contract in May. The city of Cape Girardeau will pay $793,000 of the project costs; MoDOT will pay the remainder.

Construction on the roundabout began the last week of April. Despite a wet June, Holt said work was completed ahead of time. While the completion is little more than one week away, Holt said the contractor still has plenty to do.

Among the work remaining is an asphalt overlay on Kings­way Drive and Lexington and striping and pouring the concrete islands for each of the four legs approaching the roundabout.

One lane of the roundabout is open for traffic moving east and west on Lexington, but Holt said Kingsway will remain closed until the project is complete. Route W was closed last week for pavement construction and could be closed this week for one to two days for striping, Holt said. Lane reductions on Mount Auburn Road also remain in place as construction continues.

As part of the roundabout design, additional turn lanes were put in place at the nearby stoplight intersection of Mount Auburn, Lexington and Kingshighway. Dual left-turn lanes were added from Mount Auburn to Kingshighway, from Kingshighway to Lexington and from Lexington to Kingshighway. The design included a right-turn only lane from Kingshighway to Lexington and a second eastbound lane on Lexington from Kingshighway to Abbey Road.

Holt said considering how much traffic runs through the area, work has gone smoothly. Though construction is in its final days, he said motorists still should be cautious as they travel through the area.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Lexington Avenue and Kingsway Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.