Work on Aurora’s Highway 39 $6 million overpass project could restart this month

Construction on the Highway 39 overpass just outside of Aurora could begin again as early as the middle of the month, a MoDOT engineer said.
Johnny Teegardin, MoDOT resident engineer, said he is hopeful that the Burlington- Northern Santa Fe’s reviews of contractor submissions will wrap up by the middle of May and work on the overpass can begin again. The project has been on hold for several months while the railroad reviews the submissions.
Teegardin also said the project is expected to be completed in “140 calendar days” after construction begins again.
“It’s not a huge lunge,” he said. “It’s just trying to get over that hiccup of the bridge portion (and) to get the approvals done, just so that BNSF is satisfied that the contractor can get the job started.”
Besides the overpass, the project also involves installing new railroad signals and crossing arms on Elliot Avenue (Lawrence County Route K) between Olive Street (Route 39) and Mill Street to create a quiet zone, building new sidewalks along the north side of Mill Street between McNatt Avenue and Elliot Avenue and along the west side of Elliot Avenue between Mill Street and Olive Street, and installing pedestrian crossing arms on the west side of Elliot Street on either side of the railroad tracks between Mill Street and Olive Street. Also, a box culvert on Route 39 at Chat Creek will be replaced. Teegardin said a substantial amount of this work is already done.
“We’re about 49-percent completed, about halfway there, based on the cost of the project,” he said. The project cost is $6.7 million.