Contractors are moving in equipment to begin work on the 20th Street overpass to be located just east of Wisconsin Avenue in Joplin. Once completed, the overpass will provide a safer and more efficient system for both vehicular traffic and railway use. The track is maintained by Kansas City Southern Railway with 15 trains passing through Joplin on this railway each day, with speeds up to 50 miles per hour. Projections show an increase of up to 29 trains per day on this rail within the last 20 years.

To reduce delays and enhance safety for train operators and highway users, separating the grade on this roadway is necessary, said Nick Heatherly, director of Joplin Public Works. The design will not only help address these users, but will also add amenities for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling along this roadway. In addition, public safety vehicles will gain an additional east/west corridor to use in emergency situations.

Construction requires closing 20th Street between New Hampshire Avenue and Indiana Avenue, beginning in late April, with a construction period of 18 months before the roadway is again opened to traffic. A detour route running along Connecticut Avenue, 32nd Street and Main Street will be established, and marked accordingly with traffic control signage. Access to properties immediately adjacent to the construction will be provided via other routes or temporary gravel surfacing.

The first phase of the project will close a portion of 20th Street near New Hampshire starting March 30, as the road is widened and the base strengthened to support the overpass structure.

As this work begins, citizens will experience lane closures in the area of 20th and New Hampshire, said Heatherly. We expect this work to take approximately four weeks. At the completion of the work at New Hampshire, the project will require full closure of 20th Street with detours put into place. The city will provide notifications of the anticipated closure through various methods, including informational signs along 20th Street to prepare drivers.

The contractor for the project is APAC of Missouri, Inc. Construction costs are $5.5 million funded through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER Discretionary Grant program offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Joplins Capital Improvement Sales Tax (CIST) revenues will be used for a portion of the construction and for the design and right of way costs of $2.8 million. The Capital Improvement Sales Tax was originally passed in 2004 and voters renewed it in 2014.

The city will post construction updates, including a rendering of the finished overpass, on its website here.

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