Improvements begin on Berry Road
Work began Tuesday on improvements to Berry Road at Benham Street/Highway 47 in Bonne Terre, an area west of the U.S. 67 overpass that can see an average of up to 20,000 vehicles pass through every day, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s 2018 traffic count.
The city is getting financial help from the state for the estimated $130,000 project which will lengthen and widen the southbound left-turn lane on Berry Road. The updates are expected to accommodate school bus traffic, reduce congestion and provide curbing and guttering to improve drainage.
Berry Road traffic is expected to temporarily be rerouted west to Hazel Street, which lets out at the mid-hill point of Benham St./Highway 47, on the Monterey Mushrooms side.
Twice a day and five times a week during the school year, a convoy of about 36 school buses leave from the North County Bus Garage at 250 Berry Road, mostly turning left or right on Route K or Highway 47.
And every time it rains heavily, stormwater accumulates and drains toward a lift station located just to the east of the road.
City Building Inspector Dwayne Hackworth said, despite this summer’s wet weather, the much-anticipated project should be OK to come in on time.
“We’re still on schedule,” he said. “The important thing will be to get all the work finished before school starts.”
Classes for North County begin Aug. 15.
The length of roadway is about 100 feet. The section extends from the area where Benham St./Highway 47 and Berry Road intersect, to the unnamed road between Pharmax Pharmacy and Dairy Queen. The west side, where the electrical substation is located, will also be widened.
Jokerst Inc. of Ste. Genevieve is handling the road construction, which was planned by Taylor Engineering of Farmington.
Jokerst Inc. employees Terry Nations and Michael Meyer work to locate gas and utility lines before the heavy-duty earth-moving, paving, curbing and guttering operations begin on Berry Road in Bonne Terre.
Sarah Haas is the assistant editor for the Daily Journal. She can be reached at 573-518-3617 or at shaas@dailyjournalonline.com.
