The city of Festus plans to close a block-long section of Brierton Lane, between South Second Street and South Third Street, after a state inspection found that a deteriorating culvert had made the road unsafe in that area.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) gave the city a 30-day deadline to close the road, after inspecting it March 27.
Festus City Administrator Happy Welch said the city would comply soon, although he didn’t have a date for the closure.
The MoDOT inspection targeted a section of road that runs over large stormwater pipes.
Welch said he did not know when the troubled section of Brierton would reopen.
“We’ll have to see,” he said Thursday (April 2). “It has to be fixed before the street will re-open. The problem is the pipes under the street. They’re corrugated steel and they’ve deteriorated.”
He said the situation is complicated because the stormwater pipes go under property owned by Festus, Crystal City and the owner of Twin City Mall.
Welch said drivers sometimes use Brierton Lane, which becomes narrow in spots as it runs behind Twin City Mall, as a link from Harrison Lane to Main Street.
After the designated section of Brierton Lane is closed, access to the rear of the mall will only be available from Harrison Lane and drivers will no longer be able to use Brierton Lane to reach Main Street.
Karry Friedmeyer, the Crystal City Street Department superintendent, said Crystal City officials are investigating how their town is affected by the deteriorating stormwater pipes.
Welch announced the need for the closure at the April 1 meeting of the Festus City Council.