Cole County plans Business 50 West upgrades

Plans for an upgrade of the existing three-lane section of Business 50 West are in progress.

Cole County officials are planning to improve the roadway by adding sidewalks, gutters and a curb.

Bidding will take place in December and construction will begin in early 2014.

The construction will be done in two phases, with the first estimated to cost $3.6 million. The combined cost of the two phases will be $5.3 million.

This will be the largest road construction project that county has done by itself.

Cole County Engineer Eric Landwehr said the county is working hard to make sure that no local businesses are hurt by these plans.

“We think we can work through that issue to provide temporary access to every business,” Ladwehr said.