Mt. Vernon, MoDOT street projects improve area roadways, culverts

This summer, the city of Mt. Vernon and MoDOT completed multiple street-improvement projects.
The city recently finished two projects which affected Dallas, Market and South Streets. The purpose was to improve storm water drainage.
“(At) Market Street between Pleasant and the Square, we replaced the storm water system that ran under the intersection of Market and South through Gibbs Park to the north side of Dallas,” said City Administrator Max Springer. “(At) Dallas, we replaced the culvert between the Square and Hazel and the culvert on South Street between McCanse and Vine streets. We replaced some sewer and water mains that were in the middle of the intersection and replaced three manholes. We (also) resurfaced the street, curbs and gutters and sidewalks in the area around the culverts and storm water drainage.”
There was an unexpected issue during the repairs on Market Street. About 250 cubic yards of soil contaminated by petroleum, or about 40 truckloads, had to be removed from the area and taken to a sanitary landfill. It’s not known how the soil was contaminated, but there was a gas station in the area at one time.
MoDOT completed their own project on the loop over the summer when they resurfaced Highway 39/Business 44 between I-44 on the east end of Mt. Vernon and I-44/Route H on the west. The project was started on the week of Aug. 5 and was completed on Aug. 16; the roadwork was done mainly at night.
“The project included new guardrail at Route H, new pavement striping and shoulders were paved on the west end of the project,” said Angela Eden, senior communication specialist for MoDOT.”
Eden also said the roadwork was completed at night to minimize any inconvenience to Mt. Vernon residents.
“The project was done during nighttime hours to reduce the impacts to the community,” she said. “The project is a good example of MoDOT’s commitment to taking care of the state’s transportation system.”