Shelby Road project nears finish line

“I think it will make a dramatic improvement in the traffic flow,” Bill Robison of Smith & Company Engineers said recently as he stopped on an unstriped section of Shelby Road between Kanell Boulevard and Highway 53.

Phase 2 of the road isn’t open yet, but it should be by the end of May, maybe sooner.

The drive from the top of Shelby to the end of the new extension will take less than seven minutes, according to a test run by Robison and project manager Dominic Thompson. The trip was made at the posted speed limit and utilized all of the signal lights that will be in operation when the road opens.

The 2.5-mile extension broke ground in September 2017.

Striping, clean up and some other minor work are all that remain to complete the $10.4 million project.

“All of the pavement has been poured,” explained Thompson. “The signals are operational right now.”

A string of good weather could push the opening date up to as early as the end of March, but the recent wet weather has already caused some delays, he said.

When bids were first let for the project, it was hoped it would open in January of this year. Weather delays and the addition of bid alternates for a walking trail and signalized light at Roxy Road also added days to the timeline, said Thompson.

One of the stops for Robison and Thompason during their drive was the hill where a groundbreaking for the project was held. A four-lane highway has replaced the woods where the Boyers family once held family birthday and wedding celebrations.

The Shelby extension cuts through cattle pastures, but is also within sight of the Valley Plaza Shopping Center tower and the steeple of First Baptist Church.

A four-lane bridge crosses Pike Creek near Highway 53. The bridge was widened to accommodate the higher flows of the creek, Thompson said. The extension also contains seven to 10 culverts, including box culverts, to carry water.

A hillside near Kanell also contains a berm, about halfway down, that was designed to direct runoff to rock-lined ditches. The hillside is covered now with netting to help with the establishment of grass and prevent topsoil runoff.

Runoff is being monitored after each rain event, and erosion has been monitored during construction, Robison said.

More than 450,000 cubic yards of dirt and approximately 50,000 cubic yards of rock have been removed to construct the new road. Removal of rock has also slowed the project, Thompson said.

The city will take over maintenance of the extension when work is complete.

Bond debt taken out under the Poplar Bluff Regional Transportation District is being used to finance the project.

Payments will be made with money collected from a 1-cent transportation sales tax levied at more than 150 businesses in the Oak Grove Road, Kanell Boulevard and Westwood Boulevard areas. Payments are expected to continue through 2039 and 2046.

The PBRTDD was set up to fund a series of phase 1 and phase 2 transportation improvements.

The Shelby Road extension is the final phase 1 project.

DAR/Donna Farley