Weather, I-55 work push back paving in Scott City

~ MoDOT has no timeline for rescheduling the work on Main Street.

Just over two weeks have passed since resurfacing was set to begin on Scott City's Main Street, but so far little work has occurred on the project and may not for months.

MoDOT has no timeline for the resumption of the paving of Main Street, also known as Route K, from the Interstate 55 interchange to Route N on the city's eastern end, said MoDOT operations engineer Lynelle Luther.

What is known is that the work won't begin until after the contractor on the project, Apex Paving Co., finishes another project -- resurfacing I-55 between Fruitland and Scott City, Luther said. Such delays are not unusual for resurfacing projects, she said.

Weather permitting, work will begin on that project Monday, Luther said.

Originally work was set to begin on the Route K project around March 22. The project was to be done within about five business days, with work going on at night to reduce the traffic burden on the city's main thoroughfare.

Route K carries 15,410 vehicles a day through the town of about 5,000 people.

Some prep work done

City administrator Ron Eskew said the contractors came to Scott City and did some prep work, but never went further.

But cold temperatures and rain prevented the actual resurfacing from going ahead as scheduled, said Luther.

Eskew said the last thing the city knew was that the work would be delayed a week. Since then the city hasn't received any additional information, he said.

But with the news the project could be delayed for some time, Eskew said it shouldn't really affect things in Scott City.

"MoDOT had told us it would be in the two-year plan anyway, and they're about a year ahead of what we were expecting, so we'll be happy just to get it done this year," said Eskew.

Scott City Chamber of Commerce president Mitch Bass does have some worries if the project occurs this summer, though. More people could be out later at night visiting local businesses for food, ice cream and other things after baseball games, he said, which could cause more traffic problems than there would have been in late March.

Like the city government, Bass said he's received little information as to the new time frame or the reasons for the delay.

Representatives with Apex were unavailable for comment Friday.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182