WAPPAPELLO, Mo. -- A damaged section of state highway at Wappapello Lake is expected to reopen today, less than two months after flood waters tore away nearly one-third of a mile of road.
The Highway T project finishes a week and a half ahead of schedule and is in time for July 4th activities, said David Wyman, area engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
"We were very, very fortunate weather-wise," said Wyman, also complimenting Robertson Contractors of Poplar Bluff, Mo., for their work.
The last item to be completed today was the striping, with the road to open at noon.
There are no weight restrictions and it will have the same speed limit, Wyman said. Some minor cleanup and other finishing work is also being completed, he said.
"I really appreciate the patience of the public, and the work done by Butler and Wayne counties. They both worked with us very well on the maintenance of the county road most people were using as a detour," Wyman said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has also worked with MoDOT to make this process go as smoothly as possible, he said.
MoDOT spent about $638,000 to replace the road to its pre-flood conditions.
Highway T serves as a main artery for the Wappapello community and has been the source of contention for some residents, who believed a bridge should be constructed.
The road was damaged May 2, when water topped the auxiliary spillway for the lake. This is the second time the road has been damaged by water crossing this spillway. It is the third time in the lake's 76-year history the secondary spillway has been needed because of record lake levels.
A bridge could cost as much as $40 million, MoDOT has said, because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has restrictions on what can be placed in the spillway.
Water has to be able flow through the emergency channel, the Corps has said.
The road last washed out in 2011. It took about three weeks to have a temporary road in place following that flood, and more than a year to complete the permanent road.
An emergency bid letting was used for the current repair work, which used the same designs created for the 2011 repair.