Republic Road widening project in the final stretch of construction

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Construction on one of Springfield’s busiest roads is near the finish line.

The final phase of the Republic Road Widening Project began last March and is designed to provide better integration between Campbell Avenue, Republic Road and James River Freeway.

Engineer Nicholas Edelman said when the project is complete, he anticipates it being the busiest intersection in the city as workers begin putting on the finishing touches.

“What we will be doing when we start the paving operation is shifting traffic in one lane so they can pave that lane, initially mill that lane, and pave that lane. So to do that we will have to switch traffic in another lane,” said Edelman.

Drivers can see new concrete paving on the west side of Campbell and Republic and with this new asphalt laid down, the stripping process will get done fairly quickly.

Once it’s completed, drivers will be shifted back to the new lane but he warns drivers to be on the lookout for lane configurations as they finish construction.

The project is scheduled to be completed in May.

Across town, the Grant Avenue Parkway project is set to resume with crews working on road surfacing between Grand and Sunshine beginning tomorrow and throughout next week.

City officials said this project is a little different than most.

“Grant Avenue Parkway is a design-build project, so that’s a little different than a delivery method than we do for other projects. The reason we decided to do a design-build is so we could do designing, acquiring property, and constructing all at the same time along this entire stretch, “ said Communication Coordinator Kristen Milam.

The Grant Avenue Parkway project is reaching the halfway point of construction and is expected to be wrapped up at the end of the year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com.