HANNIBAL – By the end of next year, drivers will have the opportunity to utilize a third lane on both east and westbound Interstate 70 in Montgomery County in the area known as Mineola Hill. The ESS Team, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, was selected today as the apparent best-value proposer by the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission.
This highway project was made possible by a federal Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant in combination with the replacement of the I-70 Missouri River Bridge at Rocheport in Boone and Cooper Counties.
The ESS Team is comprised of Emery Sapp & Sons serving as the prime contractor and Bartlett & West providing the design services.
The ESS Team was one of three design-build teams competing for the contract. Design-build is a project delivery method that combines both the design and construction phases into one contract to save time and resources. Information about the project can be found at https://www.modot.org/mineola-hill-climbing-lanes-design-build.
“The project’s primary purpose is to construct eastbound and westbound truck climbing lanes near Mineola Hill to enable traffic to flow more safely and efficiently and to replace the bridges within the project limits to replace existing deficient structure,” explained MoDOT Project Director Brandi Baldwin. Construction on the project will begin later this summer.
“We’re proud to have been selected to build the new lanes and look forward to a good working relationship with the team and the region,” said Matt Oesch, project manager for the ESS Team. “We’re committed to building a quality project at a good value as quickly as possible.”
The project goals are:
- Optimize traffic flow and safety with the project limits during and after construction.
- Use the available resources wisely to improve safety, reliability and long-term performance of the assets with the project limits.
- Meet or beat the construction completion date of Nov. 30, 2021.
The program budget is $15.8 million dollars which includes preliminary engineering, construction engineering, stipends and the $14.4 million dollar design-build contract.
The ESS Team’s goal is to subcontract 10 percent of the construction and 14 percent of the professional and design activities to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise companies. Federal workforce goals also require that 11.4 percent of those working on the project are minorities, and 6.9 percent are female.
The next step in the design-build process is for the ESS Team to fine-tune its design plans. Construction is expected to begin in July.
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