A small section of Central Avenue will be closed to traffic starting Monday, Aug. 25, through Sept. 17 to allow construction crews to work on a new floodwall system, the city of Eureka announced.
The closure was originally scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Aug. 20.
City officials announced today, Aug. 15, that the closure is being delayed to allow crews to finish construction on the portion of the floodwall that passes over nearby Bald Hill Road.
The Central Avenue closure will span from just north of the bridge over the Flat Creek Trail to the Circle K gas station entrance.
City Clerk Julie Wood said motorists should use the gas station’s Old Town Drive entrance to avoid construction.
The Central Avenue Spur, 394 South Central Ave., will remain open for public parking during the construction project.
Eureka officials are working with the Missouri Department of Transportation to potentially adjust the traffic signal at Central Avenue to ensure traffic can move smoothly in the area during the closure, the city reported.
A small portion of the Flat Creek Trail near the Hwy. 109 bridge has closed for the same construction efforts. The closure began Monday, Aug. 11, and the section will remain closed Oct. 6. The city-operated walking and biking trail connects Kircher Park to Legion Park.
City officials said earlier this year that the flood mitigation efforts are set to be completed in the fall.
The Eureka Board of Aldermen approved a $7.3 million contract with Keeley Construction Group Inc. of St. Louis in December to build an earthen wall along Flat Creek from west of Bald Hill Road to Hwy. 109, suitable of withstanding a 500-year flood event.
The project also includes a new detention basin, stormwater pump station and a lagoon berm. The existing berm at the Missouri American Water wastewater treatment plant on Labarque Way Road will be raised by 2 feet.
A second floodwall also is proposed for Forby Creek near the Eureka High School campus and Elk Trails subdivision.
The city will use a $4 million grant from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to pay for the wall’s construction, along with Proposition E funding. Voters approved Prop E, a 1/2-cent sales tax, in 2018 for city capital improvements, including the construction of a new Police Station and flood mitigation measures.