Oak Grove Road repairs begin next week

One westbound lane of Oak Grove Road will be closed for repairs starting in the middle of next week.

The Poplar Bluff Street Department will begin work Tuesday or Wednesday and hopes to have the project complete by the end of October.

The area to be repaired is located in front of Jimmy Johns, said Jerry Lawson, street superintendent. It includes approximately 350 feet of the westbound outside lane and about 160-180 feet of the westbound inside lane.

Construction of an expanded Oak Grove Road is shown in 2012.DAR File Photo

“The concrete there is cracked really badly,” said Lawson. “It’s just uneven. It needs to be replaced. It’s close to probably six inches of a drop in one spot and six inches of a rise in another.”

The city will spend about $15,000-$20,000 in materials to make the repairs, Lawson said. He expects of have about seven workers on site for the project.

City officials have coordinated with Poplar Bluff schools to schedule the work, Lawson said. The decision was made to wait until after Friday night’s homecoming game to begin.

“I’m hoping to be out of there right about the end of October,” said Lawson, adding that schedule might be optimistic, depending on weather. “This time of year, we should be okay. We’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope everything is able to progress in a timely fashion.”

At least one westbound lane will be open throughout the work, Lawson said.

This section of Oak Grove Road was completed in 2012, according to city manager Mark Massingham.

City officials believe the amount of fill dirt needed to level the area may have resulted in trouble with initial compaction and led to the current problems.

When the road was expanded to five lanes, fill dirt up to 25 and 32 feet deep was needed in some areas.