August 17, 2024
This month, the City of Raytown will begin three major construction projects that include road and traffic safety improvements, storm water repairs and sidewalk repairs throughout the city and on major roads. Below is a summary of the projects:
Sterling Avenue
A $167,000 federal grant from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act through the Mid-America Regional Council will fund more than a half mile of mill and overlay on Sterling Avenue between Blue Ridge Boulevard and 51st Street. Resurfacing the road is expected to begin the week of Aug. 19. Prior to the resurfacing, Leath & Sons, a local Raytown heavy construction services company, will remove and replace a collapsed storm pipe on Sterling Avenue at 54th Terrace. This combined project is expected to be completed by the end of August.
Raytown Road
Starting Aug. 12, JM Fahey will begin removing and replacing concrete curbs, sidewalks and driveways along Raytown Road from the north side of 67th Street to the south side of 74th Terrace.
The next phase of this project will be the mill and overlay, which is slated to begin mid-September. The project is expected to be completed by mid-October and will cost about $1.2 million.
Blue Ridge Blvd near 72nd Street
Rumble strips were installed earlier this week on Blue Ridge Blvd from Gregory Boulevard to 75th Street. This curvy road was the site of a fatality in May 2023. In response to the victim’s family request to improve safety, the Board of Aldermen and City leadership were committed to implementing traffic calming and safety improvement measures.
“We are implementing three traffic calming methods to improve traffic safety,” said City Administrator Damon Hodges. “A flashing sign to cause drivers to take notice of their speed; rumble strips which warn drivers when crossing the center line to avoid head-on collisions and finally, crews will refresh the road striping. Rumble strips are generally done on county roads or U.S. highways, installing them on an urban road is uncommon and a unique approach to improve traffic safety.”
Round 2: Concrete Repairs
In June, the first round of concrete repairs was completed at a cost of $66,000. New sidewalks were installed on Raytown Road and 80th Street near Southwood Elementary. Other concrete repairs included 514 feet of curb and gutter repairs, sidewalk repairs, driveway approaches repairs and one ADA ramp improvement. The second round of concrete repairs will begin in the next 30 days. The total budget for both rounds of improvements cannot exceed $110,000.
All work is weather permitting. For questions about any of these projects, please contact Public Works Director Robinson Camp at [email protected].
