DISTRICT 8, SPRINGFIELD - The eastbound right-hand lane of Sunshine Street is scheduled to be closed just west of Glenstone Avenue after 7 p.m. Sunday, June 6, as work begins to widen Springfield's busiest intersection.
A contractor crew will saw concrete to begin removing old pavement and curbs, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.
The lane should be reopened by 6 a.m. Monday, June 7.
As part of Sunday night's work, the eastbound right turn-lane will be closed. Drivers will have to make right turns at the intersection for several weeks to allow crews to rebuild the island and build the new right turn-lane.
A crew is expected to work during daytime hours starting Monday, with most activity AWAY from traffic. Sunday night's work is the only nighttime activity scheduled during the week.
Most of the work at the beginning of the project will take place along Sunshine Street from Glenstone Avenue west to about Kentwood Avenue.
The intersection project includes adding a second left turn-lane in each direction, re-aligning the right turn-lane and installing new traffic signals and street lighting.
The $1.5-million project's scheduled completion date is November 1. APAC-Missouri of Columbia is the prime contractor.
Most construction work that would close lanes and disrupt traffic will be done at night.
All through lanes on Sunshine and on Glenstone will be kept open during daytime hours.
However, right-turn and left turn-lanes may be closed during the day. When this occurs, drivers will have to make right turns at the intersection and left turns will have to be made from the left through lanes, which probably will cause slowdowns.
Updates on the project will be provided through the news media and on MoDOT's web site, modot.org (click on Springfield on the map).
The Sunshine-Glenstone widening is one of four such projects along Glenstone and four along Kansas Expressway, all designed to improve traffic flow on heavily traveled state routes through the city.
Sunshine Street carries Route D east of Glenstone Avenue, while Glenstone Avenue in that part of the city carries Business U.S. 65.
The eight intersections are being widened under a partnership between MoDOT and the City of Springfield, with the city's 1/8-cent sales tax for transportation being used to complete the work sooner than otherwise would be possible.
The Sunshine Street/Glenstone Avenue intersection carries 70,000 vehicles a day, the busiest city street intersection. By comparison, the U.S. 65/Sunshine Street interchange carries 100,000 vehicles a day.
