Oversight delays roundabout project; construction may extend past fair week

Construction of Cape Girardeau’s newest roundabout will be delayed because of a bureaucratic oversight that will require Gov. Jay Nixon to approve the project before work can begin.

The city council Monday night voted to award a contract to Fronabarger Concreters Inc. of Oak Ridge to build a roundabout at Independence Street and Gordonville Road at a cost of more than $741,000.

City officials said federal funding from the Missouri Department of Transportation will pay 80 percent of the cost. The city will pay the remaining 20 percent, or more than $148,000.

But at this point, city officials can’t give the contractor notice to proceed.

The delay could prevent completion of the roundabout before the start of the SEMO District Fair on Sept. 10.

City manager Scott Meyer told the council the goal is to have the intersection open by the start of the fair, but final work on the roundabout might not occur until afterward.

Numerous visitors travel through the intersection to get to the fair at Arena Park. As a result, city officials repeatedly have said they hoped the roundabout would be finished before the fair.

Currently, it appears construction work won’t begin until July, officials said.

That’s because all city transportation projects that involve federal funds must be approved by the Southeast Metropolitan Planning Organization, which covers the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson and portions of Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, plus the village of East Cape Girardeau and Alexander County in Illinois.

Molly Hood, Cape Girardeau’s deputy city manager, serves as executive director of the planning organization, also known as SEMPO.

SEMPO accidentally left the project off the list of transportation projects it had approved, city planner Ryan Shrimplin said before the regular council meeting.

“We have to add it back in,” he said.

The SEMPO board of directors, which includes representatives from various local governments, is scheduled to vote Wednesday to approve the project.

Shrimplin said the city then will forward the request for final approval to MoDOT and the governor. Two federal agencies also must sign off on the project before work can begin.

But Shrimplin said the federal agencies should act quickly once the governor signs off on the project.

At Monday night’s council meeting, the council also approved a grant agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for federal funds to cover some of SEMPO’s planning expenses.

Under the agreement, SEMPO will receive up to $146,816 for reimbursement of eligible expenses for the 2017 fiscal year beginning July 1. Various local governments involved in SEMPO are slated to provide the local match of nearly $37,000, Hood said in advance of the meeting.

Cape Girardeau and Jackson each will provide nearly $10,500. Contributions from Cape Girardeau County entities including the transit service, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau Special Road District and the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission will make up the rest of the local match.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.