Contractors will officially begin work July 16 on an overpass project at the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park.
Butler County commissioners signed documents Friday giving Robertson Contracting notice to proceed on the $4 million project, which is expected to be complete by early March.
The project has been stalled for more than four years as officials sought funding from a variety of resources.
All of the money has been secured, commissioners said, but details about those sources will be released at a later date.
No additional funds will come from the county, said presiding commissioner Vince Lampe. The county's share of the project includes less than $10,000 in cash, and work from the county highway department to move dirt.
"I'm excited from the standpoint that this has taken so long," said eastern district commissioner Butch Anderson. "I know it's going to cause people in the industrial park problems for a short time, but it will be well worth it."
The Cravens Road entrance of the industrial park will be closed for the duration of this project, contractors and engineers said Friday.
The road closure will occur near July 16, according to Colby Robertson, president of Robertson Contractors. Some preparation work and ordering of materials must be done in advance of the road closure, he explained. The date will be decided once the company is ready to begin work at the site.
Robertson was awarded the contract in 2017, pending funding approval. Work normally done to get subcontractors and materials ready had to wait because of this, he said.
Changes are also expected to the design of a retaining wall, which is required by Union Pacific to provide crash protection.
Contractors will be working with wall manufacturers on the design, which is currently expected to make up about $1 million of material costs.
"We are going to have proposals we think will benefit everyone," Robertson said, adding there will be very little activity until the wall is developed.
Any changes would need to be approved by Horner and Shifrin engineering firm and the railroad, according to the discussion.
Contractors have 215 calendar days after the notice to proceed date to complete the project, said John Burgelin of Horner and Shifrin. This is expected to include any bad weather days, which should have been factored into the time frame developed by contractors, he said.
It will be up to the commissioners' discretion to grant extensions if something out of the ordinary occurs, Burgelin said.
The county has secured $250,000 from the Missouri Department of Transportation and the donation of fill dirt, which helped reach the current deficit, Lampe has said.
The county was previously awarded $1.42 million in a state Community Block Development Grant, just over $106,000 from the Delta Regional Authority and approximately $1 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Riceland would contribute $383,000 for changes they have requested to the design on the company's property, and Union Pacific would pay $162,200 of costs.