Pavement, water system construction planned for Jackson in 2020

Funding for plans to improve pavement and waterlines along East Main Street was approved at Monday night’s Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting, according to Mayor Dwain Hahs.

Under the current project plan by St. Louis-based engineering firm Horner & Shifrin, existing waterlines near Goose Creek would be upgraded with a new pipe network to drain directly into the creek.

Pavement will be replaced from Maryland Street to the bridge over Goose Creek to improve the crown of the road, according to an Oct. 21 memo written by Jackson staff engineer Clint Brown.

Key elements of the proposed pavement improvements include the removal of the railroad tracks crossing East Main Street and road reconstruction work to improve on-street drainage.

The new water mainline systems would be installed on the north side of East Main Street from Georgia Street, running east before ending just before the bridge over Goose Creek.

Hahs said the project is still “in the design stage” and the $38,906 approved Monday is strictly for the design of the pavement improvements.

“It’s kind of a multi-faceted project that we’ll be doing, and that’s why we needed the engineering study,” the mayor said. “Once we have that done, then we’ll pick a time when we’re going to be able to do this.”

Staff with the city recommended the approval of the next stages in planning the construction but also recommended postponing the project until the completion of the city’s other construction projects.

Brown’s memo said construction of the pavement and waterline improvements along East Main Street is anticipated to last three months, dependent on a full road closure of the project area.

Leaving one lane of traffic open through the construction area would cause the construction to last five months, Brown wrote.

Ongoing construction plans for a roundabout at East Main Street and Shawnee Boulevard are estimated to not be completed until June 30.

“We’ll definitely want to get the roundabout done up on Shawnee and Main first, and then we’ve got to have an understanding of how much traffic we’re going to have during the divergent diamond construction (at Center Junction),” Hahs said. “We’ll go ahead and get the study done so we’re ready to go when the timing is right.”

Should construction on the East Main Street Waterline and Pavement Improvement Project begin July 1, the anticipated completion date would be Oct. 1 or Dec. 1, 2020, depending on the approval of a full road closure, Brown wrote.