The Poplar Bluff Street Department asks for the public’s patience as they tackle major projects in some high traffic areas.
It will require a one-day closure of a portion of Cravens Road, and separate two-week closures of portions of Vine Street and Ninth Street.
Superintendent Jerry Lawson hopes providing advance warning will make the travel disruptions more manageable for residents.
“I think overall it will be less inconvenience for people to just close (the roads) and get the work done,” Lawson said.
The first closure, of Cravens Road, will be brief and occur Monday. The two longer projects are expected to start in June, after school is out for the summer.
All of the projects are dependent on weather, Lawson said.
Street crews will replace a stormwater culvert on Cravens Road, near the Ozark Ridge Golf Course, on Monday.
The culvert was installed in the early 90s and the last bout of severe weather made its deteriorated condition very evident, Lawson said.
“It just started sinking on one side,” Lawson said of the culvert, which runs under the roadbed.
The street department currently has one lane closed. It will take about 10 of the department’s 15 workers to replace the 60-foot culvert, which has a 6-foot diameter.
Crews will work in June to replace broken concrete and asphalt in two areas near the Poplar Bluff Police Department.
A section of Vine Street at Walgreens has concrete slabs that have shifted and caused an uneven road surface, Lawson said.
Vine Street will be closed for approximately 200 feet, from Westwood Boulevard to just before the second Walgreens entrance, he explained.
The street is very narrow in that area.
“The reason we’re doing it this way (with a closure) is strictly safety,” Lawson said.
The second big project will take place at the intersection of Ninth and Poplar Streets, southeast of the former Kinyon school building.
“There are several breaks in the concrete and voids where the concrete has separated and just needs to be replaced,” Lawson said.
The work will include all of the intersection, as well as about 10 feet on either side for both roads.
The street department is also working now to repair approximately 30 cuts made in city streets following water main breaks during February’s long sub-zero cold snap.
Work is additionally expected Wednesday, weather permitting, to overlay a section of Broadway, between Pine and Main streets.
Other upcoming projects include at least seven asphalt projects, including some areas of gravel streets.