Wider road, narrow lanes set for Clark Lane

Construction crews will close Clark Lane beginning Tuesday for work on the street’s shoulder, and to narrow the driving lanes on the east Columbia road.

Columbia Public Works said the construction company asked to push back the start date for the project due to Monday’s threat of bad weather, which the department granted. Clark Lane, between Robert Ray Drive and the roundabout at Ballenger Lane will be closed from Tuesday, July 15 until July 22.

Crews will add a five-foot wide shoulder on both sides of the road, as well as widening the road itself. The driving lanes will also be made narrower, designed to slow traffic down in the area.

The new shoulders will alleviate some concern for pedestrians and bicyclists using the road. A stretch of Clark Lane between Woodland Springs Court and McKee Street has no sidewalks or extended shoulders.

The Columbia City Council approved the project in January, despite some residents in the area asking the city instead approve sidewalks. In the meeting, Public Works director John Glascock said it would take three years for the city to put sidewalks along Clark Lane, due to right-of-way purchasing and figuring out a way to fund it. The sidewalks alone, Glascock said, would cost around #3 million, and the road-widening project would bring the project to $6.2 million.

The shoulder project beginning Tuesday will cost a little more than $1.1 million. The Missouri Department of Transportation will partially fund it since Clark Lane is also State Highway PP.

MoDOT also announced Sunday the opening of the Route B bridge in Columbia a day ahead of schedule.