HANNIBAL – The Missouri Department of Transportation will be replacing the Missouri Route 19 bridge over Interstate 70 near New Florence, with construction beginning in the Fall of 2022. The new Route 19 bridge will be built to the west of the existing and utilizing oval roundabouts for the ramp and outer road intersections. To help area residents and other drivers become familiar with the project, an overview video, as well as a video for each construction stage, is now available at https://www.modot.org/missouri-route-19-bridge-replacement-over-i-70.
“We sought and received a lot of good feedback about the project at our public meeting, and we have taken that feedback into consideration when finalizing the plans,” explained MoDOT Area Engineer Erik Maninga. “We will continue to promote these videos at the beginning and throughout the project,” he said. “We encourage anyone who has attended one of the public meetings to at least view the brief overview video at this time,” he added.
There are no impacts to traffic until the Spring of 2023. As construction progresses, the south outer road to the west of Route 19 will experience a temporary closure. Traffic desiring access to areas along the south outer road to the west of Route 19 will need to detour to the Route 161 interchange at Danville. In addition, a one-week temporary closure to Route 19 on the southern portion of the project is required to safely connect existing Route 19 to the new bridge. “This closure is primarily for the safety of the traveling public; if Route 19 were to remain open, there would be traffic delays and create backup onto the interstate, which is a significant safety concern,” Maninga states. The one-week closure will have no impact to local businesses since it is occurring on MO 19 just south of the south outer road. This will occur sometime in the Summer of 2023.
Currently, property owners are being contacted by our Right of Way professionals, and we anticipate this process will take about six months. The contract, if acceptable to our Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, will be awarded in July 2022.
Questions about the project can be directed to Maninga at 573-406-6524 or by email erik.maninga@modot.mo.gov.
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