Alternate Route 63

Kirksville, MO

May 13, 2011

South Project

The South Project has had the most activity in recent weeks. Earthwork is progressing, but has been delayed once again by the wet and cool weather. The retaining walls for the south flyover bridge should be complete by next week and bridge work should commence immediately thereafter. Pile driving is scheduled to resume on the Bear Creek bridge next week as well.

North Project

The contractor is trying to finish up the Business 63 interchange bridge. The approaches are being poured this week and the barrier curb should be done by late next week.

They are also beginning the grading work for the temporary by-pass at the north connection near Lawson Hill Antiques.

The contractor has been preparing the sub-grade for base rock from just south of Lincoln St. to the north end. They should start laying base rock next week, and the area should be ready for concrete paving shortly afterward. The contractor intends on having a large area ready, so that when the paving crews arrive things will change rapidly.

The contractor was able to finish and seed about 10 acres of roadway slopes this week.

The plans to relocate the house just north of Route 6 have fallen through, but crews are salvaging what materials they can. Once they have salvaged the majority of the house, the contractor will demolish the remains and the foundation. This work must be completed prior to closing Route 6.

The closure date of Route 6 is still unknown at this time. The house needs to be demolished and there is still a substantial amount of earthwork that will need to be done prior to the closure. The paving crews will also need to be on site. Progress in this area is not anticipated until concrete paving at the north end is nearing completion.

In addition to the Alternate 63 work that has been taking place, a separate contract to overlay Routes P and 11 between the Alternate Route and Baltimore St. was awarded over the winter to Chester Bross Construction of Hannibal. Their crews have completed the overlay of Routes P and 11 and will continue out of town on Route 11 to Route 15 over the coming days. The new overlays should improve the connectivity between Baltimore St. and Alternate 63 once it opens in the fall.

March 22, 2011

March 10, 2011

As weather permits, the substructure work on the bridge at Bear Creek continues. The contractor is moving in equipment to begin the retaining wall construction at the Bus. 63 bridge near Eagle Lane. Much drier conditions and warmer temperatures are needed before earthwork and paving can resume.

February 18, 2011

The project web cam is now available to view online. The web cam gives the ability to view the project in near real-time segments.

Click here to check it out!

January 14, 2011

New video added of the concrete pour at the Bear Creek Bridge on January 6, 2011. Check it out at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vt-G_eQ_bMQ

January 14, 2011

Alternate Route 63 Bridge Work Video on Web Site

-- Web Cam Coming Soon --

Until the recent snow storm hit earlier this week, construction crews had been working steadily on the south end of the Alternate Route 63 project at Kirksville. Since most of the construction is taking place in areas only visible from a bird’s eye view, MoDOT will periodically post video clips on its web site of construction work taking place along the 8.5-mile project.

The first video, taken last week, shows crews working on the new bridge over Bear Creek.  This short video shows concrete being poured into one of the formed pillars for the bridge.

As new videos are posted on the web site MoDOT will send alerts using news releases, e-updates, Twitter and Facebook.

Another way for MoDOT to share progress on the construction is through a web cam, which should be up and running sometime in February, weather permitting. The web cam will be installed near the south end of the project where the Alternate Route will connect to the existing US 63. The web cam will be linked to MoDOT’s web site, so visitors to the site can watch real-time progress of the bridge construction. The web cam archives the photo images so you can see what takes place on any given day.

November 23, 2010

South Project

Grading and culvert installation is well under way. Grading is nearly complete between Spencer Ln. and Bear Creek. Seeding is taking place this week. The bridge fills are nearly complete at the Bear Creek bridge.

The contractor plans to move to the Bus. 63 over Alt. 63 (flyover) bridge as early as tomorrow. Having the bridge fills completed will allow the bridge contractor to work on the bridges over the winter.

Eagle Lane could close within the next few weeks to allow construction of the Business 63 bridge fill. Laurel Lane could possibly be closed this year.

North Project

Route 11 has opened as planned. No further closures of state routes are planned this year. Route 6 is planned for early spring. It will be a 28 day closure.

The Patterson Street bridge is nearly complete. The barrier curb is scheduled to be poured next week.

The Business 63 bridge should be completed this year, girders and deck panels were set last week. The deck will be ready to pour in two weeks.

Guardrail is scheduled to be installed at several locations next week. The same contractor intends on installing permanent signing where possible at the same time.

Paving is complete from just north of Route P to Patterson Street. Only small pours are planned for the remaining year since the cold temperatures are requiring fresh concrete to be protected from freezing.

Grading is basically complete for the entire job, except for the tie-ins at the north end and the work associated with Route 6.

The contractor plans to continue to work on both projects until weather forces them into winter shut-down.