Penzel awarded Center Junction contract

A contract for the replacement of two Interstate 55 bridges over U.S. 61 between Cape Girardeau and Jackson and the redesign of the highway interchange below those bridges has been awarded by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, clearing the way for work on the project to begin this spring.

The commission, meeting Wednesday in Jefferson City, accepted the bid of Penzel Construction Co. Inc. of Jackson in the amount of $17,476,608 for work at the interchange, which is commonly known as Center Junction. The Penzel bid was the lowest from among five submitted for the commission’s consideration.

Missouri Department of Transporation district engineer Mark Shelton said MoDOT staff will be meeting with Penzel representatives in the coming weeks to discuss project timelines and various construction details.

“Ideally, depending on weather, sometime in late March we could see some work starting,” he said.

The project will require closure of the interstate’s northbound entrance ramp and southbound exit ramp at Exit 99 for much of 2020. However, at least one lane of U.S. 61 below I-55 will remain open in both directions for the duration of the construction period.

The project will include construction of a diverging diamond interchange along U.S. 61, which Shelton said will be safer and more efficient than the existing interchange design.

“In the end, we’ll have a pair of seismically-designed bridges along the interstate and a diverging diamond interchange design that will be safer and able to handle traffic flow better,” Shelton said. “There will be some inconveniences (during the construction), but I think it’s going to be a wonderful project when it’s completed.”

In addition to the Center Junction project, MoDOT recently announced it has begun preliminary planning for replacement and reconstruction of the “flyover” of South Kingshighway at I-55’s Exit 93. MoDOT has scheduled an informational meeting on that project for later this month. However, Shelton said any work at that interchange is still years away and won’t happen until long after the Center Junction project is completed.

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