MoDOT changes course on center junction closure

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) engineers have shifted gears and now are looking to keep traffic flowing on U.S. 61 during construction of an Interstate 55 interchange between Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

MoDOT officials, including district engineer Mark Shelton, met Friday with representatives of Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and the Southeast Missouri Metropolitan Planning Organization at the state highway office in Jackson.

MoDOT announced earlier this month it might close U.S. 61 at center junction for seven months next year, forcing about 20,000 motorists a day to find alternate routes to their destinations.

Local government leaders strongly objected to the proposal, which prompted Friday’s meeting.

MoDOT announced in June it plans to rebid the interchange project after initial bids, which ranged from $18.4 million to $20.1 million, came in too high.

Closing U.S. 61 during construction was viewed by MoDOT staff as a way to reduce costs.

But MoDOT’s Jason Williams, who is managing the project, said the agency is now looking at keeping one lane of traffic open in each direction on U.S. 61 during construction. That plan would require some of the I-55 ramps to be closed during construction, Williams said.

The project involves construction of a diverging diamond interchange, which would shift traffic patterns to eliminate left turns. It also would include replacement of two 600-foot I-55 bridges over US. 61 with two, 200-foot spans.

Cape Girardeau city planner Ryan Shrimplin, who attended the meeting, called the latest plan “a potential trade-off.”

Closing some of the ramps, possibly for several months, “seemed to be preferable to having a full closure of (U.S.) 61,” Shrimplin said.

MoDOT’s Williams said, under this arrangement, “traffic would likely run in a head-to-head configuration” in the U.S. 61 lanes on the south side of center junction.

Ramps on the north side of the interchange — the northbound on ramp and the southbound off ramp — would be closed while construction proceeds in that area, Williams said.

Ramps, on the south side of the interchange, to access southbound I-55 and exit northound I-55, would remain open, he said.

“Once you build the north half of the interchange, you would then move existing traffic onto new pavement” to allow for construction on the south side of the interchange, according to Williams.

MoDOT also would build one I-55 span at a time to keep traffic flowing on I-55.

MoDOT believes the latest construction staging plan would reduce the cost of the project.

Shrimplin, the city planner, said MoDOT estimated the cost too low when initially designing the project.

“They are going to have to find a way to bump the budget up a little bit. It may be more in the area of $15.5 million,” he said.

While some ramps may be closed for a time, keeping traffic flowing on U.S. 61 would lessen the inconvenience for commuters and avoid devastating local businesses that depend on that traffic, Shrimplin said.

MoDOT officials plan to outline the revised staging plan at a meeting of the federally funded Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization (SEMPO) board at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Jackson Civic Center. Various local leaders serve on the SEMPO board.

MoDOT wants to rebid the project this fall, with construction to start in the spring. The entire project, which includes the I-55 spans, could be completed by November 2021, Williams said.

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