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Bobby Acton looks on as Jack Kirkman brings his Bobcat in for another load of rock cleared from a stream near the intersection of Providence and Stewart roads in Columbia on Friday. Concrete will be laid where the water currently runs to form an underpass allowing hikers and bikers on the MKT Trail to safely navigate the intersection.
(STEVE BARTEL/Missourian)
Construction of a trail underpass at Stewart and Providence roads began in the early spring. City officials say the project will provide a safer route for trail users by allowing them to cross beneath the intersection instead of crossing the street and encourage more people to access downtown via the MKT Trail.
The trail underpass was supposed to be finished by the end of this summer. But it is not, and there has been little activity at the construction site the past six weeks.
So ... what’s up with that? Park Development Superintendent Steve Saitta has the answers.
Q: It seems that construction work on the trail underpass at Stewart and Providence roads has been showing less activity for the past few weeks. Why is that?
A: David Gaines, our contractor, had to work on another project for us, which had a higher priority: the restoration of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. It had a deadline, since a rededication ceremony was planned on Aug. 28, so our contractor had to honor it before he started the concrete work on the trail. ... The contractor who worked on this project is now beginning the concrete trail construction.
Q: But wasn’t this project supposed to be finished earlier?
A: Yes, the project was scheduled to be finished by now, but the time needed to secure the use agreements from MU and MoDOT (the Missouri Department of Transportation), along with the necessary permits required by the Corps of Engineers and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources took much longer than anticipated. The actual construction schedule since work began in the early spring of 2006 has been proceeding as we anticipated. The work completed thus far has been the site-grading, storm-water modifications, sanitary sewer-line lowering, boulder-placing along the trail route, and building the gravel base for the trail.
Q: So when are you going to begin work again?
A: Hopefully this week we’ll see more activity at the construction site.
Q: When do you expect the work to be complete?
A: Most of it should be finished, hopefully, by the end of the year. Final construction should be done by early spring of 2007.
Q: Has the delay added any extra costs?
A: No, the cost of the project remains $150,000, which is what we expected.
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