Those who travel Old Lemay Ferry Road in Arnold and Imperial have a respite from orange cones, tape, flashing lights, message boards and detours, at least for a while.
The project to improve Old Lemay Ferry from East Rock Creek Road to Spring Forest Road is complete.
Kurt Wengert, technical division manager for the Jefferson County Public Works Department, said the new and improved Old Lemay Ferry Road officially opened to through traffic Monday morning, May 22.
“There is still a little work to be done, punch-list kinds of things, last-minute landscaping,” he said. “We’re still waiting for grass to grow in some areas. We’ll be doing a walk-through with the contractor in the next couple of weeks to make sure everything is as it should, but that won’t affect traffic at all.”
Gershenson Construction Co. in Eureka was the lower of two bidders for that phase for $4,215,220. Half of that cost will be covered with federal funds, and the rest will come from the county’s share of a 1/2-cent countywide sales tax for road and bridge improvements.
Work on that stretch began in summer 2022 and was scheduled to wrap up in December, but because of delays caused by weather, utility line relocations and supply-chain issues, the Jefferson County Council voted in January to allow an extension.
“They were given an additional 75 (working) days to finish, and it was opened up on the 75th day,” Wengert said.
He said motorists who have been avoiding the area during construction are in for a treat once they return.
“It truly is a different driving experience,” he said. “The road is straighter, it’s flatter, it doesn’t have hills and there are no trees close to the road anymore. It definitely is different.”
While Wengert said the county Public Works Department heard more than a few complaints over the last few months about the seemingly slow pace of construction, it’s hearing a different tune since the stretch opened.
“We had one email into the general Public Works Department account that wanted us to thank the construction crews and everyone involved in the project,” he said. “Those messages are great to see.”
Work on Old Lemay Ferry isn’t finished, but the department’s focus will now shift to Seckman Road between the I-55 Outer Road and the entrance to Mastodon State Historic Site.
That project will involve raising parts of the road out of the floodplain and adding curbs, shoulders, gutters and a closed drainage system.
The estimated cost for the work is $2.7 million, with bids to be opened on June 6.
Work on that area will begin this summer and should wrap in the spring of 2024, Wengert said.
When work on that project is wrapping up, another Old Lemay Ferry Road project is expected to begin, he said.
That phase of the Old Lemay Ferry Road improvements involves making safety improvements from Kneff Road to north of Frisco Hill Road and will include wider shoulders, rumble strips, better warning signs and guardrails and widening the road around curves, he said.
Wenger said bids on that work, estimated to cost at least $2.5 million, will be accepted either later this year or early in 2024, with work possibly starting in spring 2024.
“It might overlap with the Seckman Road project,” Wengert said.
After the work from Kneff Road to north of Frisco Hill Road is completed, the final piece of the Old Lemay Ferry Road puzzle will begin. It entails reconstructing the portion of Old Lemay Ferry between Vogel Road and Spring Forest Road in addition to installing shoulders, making stormwater improvements and adding curbs and gutters.
“The good news is that none of that will necessitate a full closure,” he said. “The nature of (the just-completed project), with realigning roadways and intersections, meant we couldn’t avoid closures. But the other thing is, we’re listening and paying attention.”