Boone County starts work to improve Boone Industrial Boulevard

Justin Guerrant, a worker for Allied Sawing and Services, uses a concrete saw to cut into Boone Industrial Boulevard. This road is located in an industrial park in the northern part of Boone County. Through saw cutting, Guerrant is breaking up pavement so that Southern Ditching and Excavating, the company that was awarded the contract, can remove the pavement and put in new concrete.   ¦  Laura Latzko

COLUMBIA — Cracked, jagged pieces of concrete form a jigsaw puzzle on Boone Industrial Boulevard, a small road in northern Boone County.

Gina Davee, human resource office manager for MiTek Industries, a company at the center of the road, said semitrailers are responsible for the road’s condition.

The company, a factory that makes equipment for the construction and housing industries, has been shipping material for 12 years.

From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., trucks deliver and pick up goods from MiTek, and Davee said the traffic has worn down the road.

“It’s just broken down. The concrete is broken,” Davee said. “It’s rough; it’s uneven. There’s areas that really need be repaired. It’s not horrible, where it’s going to tear up your car or anything, but if it goes much longer, it could potentially do damage to your vehicle.”

Southern Ditching and Excavating, based out of St. Charles, began repairing 1,000 square yards of Boone Industrial Boulevard, off of Range Line Street, last week, foreman Brett Drysdale said.

The improvements are the second phase of the Boone Industrial Boulevard road project, which will cost Boone County about $113,000 total. This portion of the project will cost Boone County about $9,400.

The original budget for the project was $250,000, and the engineer’s initial estimate was $154,925.

Drysdale estimates the improvements will take less than three weeks.

John Watkins, project development manager for the Boone County Department of Public Works, said the biggest challenge during the project will be traffic control because tractor-trailers will need to use the road during construction.

“That’s going to be the biggest nightmare,” Watkins said. “We’re going to have to shut down lanes, interfere with industrial traffic.”

On Wednesday, preparation for construction began.

Justin Guerrant, a worker from Allied Sawing and Services, loosened concrete through a process called saw cutting.

“It grinds a thin line in the concrete with water and diamonds,” Guerrant said.

Southern Ditching and Excavating began the removal of old pavement last week. They’ll replace it with thicker, more durable pavement.

“We come out and bust it up and bring out a backhoe, a big tractor with a digging arm,” Drysdale said.

After the old concrete, which the inspector estimated to be between 5½ and 6 inches thick, is removed, backhoes will be brought in to put in 8-inch pavement, which is often used for industrial roads and is more suitable for tractor-trailer traffic.

Drysdale said that his company puts steel in the pavement so that it is even stronger.

“It’ll hold the slabs together, keep them from separating,” Drysdale said. “Anytime we do patch work, we do that.”

The improvements to Boone Industrial Boulevard are not the first for the area. Last year, the county connected Boone Industrial Boulevard to Range Lane Street and updated the storm water system, which cost $495,801.