Construction on Alabama/Route 59 project to kick off in late March
Residents will see shovels break ground in the coming weeks on a significant improvement project meant to reshape the intersection at Alabama Street and U.S. Route 59 in south St. Joseph.
Missouri Department of Transportation officials confirmed on Thursday that the $8.3 million project will begin around March 18 and be carried out in five stages.
“The overall project will take about two years to get done. So by November of 2026, everything should be completed and done,” said Shannon Kusilek. “We think it’s going to be better for traffic operations and improvement as well.”
Local residents had the opportunity Thursday to learn all the ins and outs of the upcoming project during a public information session hosted by MoDOT at Hosea Elementary School. Nearly five years of planning, design and right-of-way acquisitions were necessary to get the project shovel-ready for March.
The project will overhaul the current layout of the intersection by realigning roadways and driveways, adding turn lanes, sidewalks and storm drainage, changes designed to improve safety, traffic flow and turning movements for all vehicles at the accident-prone intersection, as well as increase capacity for vehicles turning or stopped at the Route U train crossing.
“We have a phase that’s going to involve closing Missouri Route 752 for a period of time and making that intersection connection,” Kuselik said. “There’s another phase for you to move it from where it is now a little bit farther south and do a new railroad crossing as well.”
Detour routes will be announced in the coming weeks as project contractor Amino Brothers Co. Inc — a Kansas City-based contractor — prepare to break ground.
As part of the revamped intersection, vehicles will still have to go over the railroad crossing when traveling along Alabama Street/Route U, a source of significant traffic jams during busy times of the day.
However, to reduce traffic backups, portions of Lake Avenue and Highway 59 will be widened to allow longer north and southbound turn lanes to be constructed. The turn lanes will provide more capacity for stopped vehicles waiting at the railroad crossing, allowing additional traffic to flow while reducing line-of-sight issues in certain areas.
“So you’re going to be adding turn lanes and acceleration lanes, things like that. There’s also another phase that’s going to take the entrances for the restaurants area and combine them into one outer road and an entrance,” he said.
