Plans for Jackson roundabout near finalization

Plans for the roundabout to be installed in uptown Jackson are nearing finalization, which will mark a significant step in the preliminary process of construction.

Missouri Department of Transportation project manager Eric Krapf said all the necessary right-of-way acquisitions should be completed before the new year.

"I think that we have reached an agreement with all the concerned property owners except for one," he said. "We have a meeting with the last one sometime later this month, which means we're about 95 percent done with right-of-way acquisitions."

He said the process is advancing as scheduled, and typically, MoDOT and property owners are able to come to an agreement.

"This is not unexpected, when you have a project where you have 10, 12, 15 property owners and sometimes more," he said.

The roundabout project included right-of-way talks with 18 property owners. Krapf said should MoDOT be unable to settle with the owner, the property most likely would be condemned and enter eminent-domain proceedings.

"[In that case,] a jury decides what the property is worth," he said. "But we don't take any land from anybody. A lot of people have that misconception. We always pay people for it."

He said MoDOT also is in the process of double-checking all the associated costs of the final design.

"We're tabulating all the quantities and materials that we're going to need to have," he said. "Whether it's striping or signage or concrete, [we're counting]things like walkways, staircases, a curb or gutter so we can put it out to bid."

City officials expressed a couple of small concerns during a MoDOT presentation last month, but Krapf said the tweaks have not affected the overall bidding tally substantially.

MoDOT also is working with the city on the utility relocation plan associated with the construction.

"All those things, too, are going to be bundled up here around the first of the year into a bidding package," Krapf said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627