Follow-up public meeting scheduled on Connecticut Avenue widening project

(From the City of Joplin)

In February 2016, the City of Joplin engineering staff held a public meeting with owners of property along Connecticut Avenue from north of the I-44 Bridge to 32nd Street to accept input in the design of the Connecticut widening project.

Since this meeting, the City selected Bartlett & West as the design engineer for the project. Comments and concerns noted from the February meeting were presented to the consultant for consideration in the design plan.

A follow-up meeting/open house has been scheduled at Immanuel Lutheran Church on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The public is encouraged to stop by anytime between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The church is located at 2616 Connecticut Avenue. The meeting/open house will allow area property owners to review the proposed final street design. Representatives of Bartlett & West, as well as city staff, will be available to answer any questions.

There are four projects adjacent to each other relating to the I-44 bridge over Connecticut, including the one being discussed at this public meeting. Each of the four projects is being managed separately, including design review meetings.

The first project is the reconstruction of the bridge itself which the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is managing. The second project is the widening of Connecticut south of the bridge and improvements along 44th Street. The City is responsible for these improvements, as well as the third project which is the meeting’s focus. As discussed, it includes the widening of Connecticut Avenue from north of the I-44 bridge to 32nd Street. A fourth MoDOT project is the 32nd & Connecticut Intersection Improvement which will also be discussed at this meeting with MoDOT representatives.

The City projects were approved in August 2014, with the renewal of a 10 year, 3/8 cent Capital Improvement Sales Tax.

If unable to attend the meeting and would like to discuss the project, citizens should contact Dan Johnson, Assistant Director of Public Works – Engineering, at 417-624-0820, ext. 530, or Brandon Louderback, Engineering Tech, at 417-624-0820, est. 598.