Warm Weather Favors Route 64 Work in St. Charles

The unseasonably warm temperatures have been favorable for continued work on the Main Street/Route 64 reconstruction project, even though much of the work is on hiatus for the winter months.

St. Charles Public Works Engineering Division Manager James Bernahl, in his regular email to residents and business owners who signed up for regular updates on the massive, $49.2 million reconstruction project, said the weather and temperatures are forecast to be favorable over the weekend and the beginning of this week. The contractor, Bernahl wrote, is continuing to move along primarily on roadway work for the next few weeks. Following is Bernahl’s summary of the work coming up on the project:

38th Avenue to Route 59:

The contractor is scheduling to frame and pour turn lanes, curb and gutter, roadway shoulders, and other miscellaneous connectors for the north and south sides of East Main Street from the east to western limits. That work was to begin Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012 and should be completed by Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012.

Pouring of the mainline roadway on the bridge just east of Powis Road was to begin Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, and was supposed to be completed Friday, Nov. 30, 2012.

Pouring of the mainline for Powis Road south of East Main Street was to begin Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 and is due for completion Monday, Dec. 3, 2012.

Pouring of the new concrete roadway for Smith and Kautz roads begins Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2012, and should continue through Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Bernahl said expect temporary delays during some of this work.

The placing of asphalt material for temporary drives, turn lanes and variable depth locations for North Powis Road, and variable depth patches across Smith and Kautz roads begins Monday, Dec. 3, and should be complete by Saturday, Dec. 8, 2012.

Bernahl wrote that the contractor expects complete shifting traffic to the new roadway patterns by mid-December. Good weather conditions should allow eastbound traffic to be shifted by Saturday, Dec. 8, and westbound traffic to be shifted by Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

7th Avenue to Kirk Road:

Bernahl reports that the contractor is coordinating with Union Pacific Railroad for removal of former railroad timbers and tracks that crossed East Main Street near South 11th Avenue. UPRR is required to remove and properly dispose of the materials.

Also expected is continued work to install electrical improvements through the winter months as weather permits. The work is not expected to require any permanent lane closures, but some random daily lane closures at various locations are expected. The completion of this work during the winter months will help to expedite the roadway replacement work in 2013.

The entire project should wrap up in August 2013.