Jefferson City Council approves plans for new roundabout

Jefferson City council members approved plans for a roundabout at Stadium Boulevard and Jefferson Street Monday.

The project is set to begin the second week of July.

The council voted to award the nearly $2.1 million contract to Lehman Construction Company from California, Mo.

About 75 percent of the project will be paid for with federal dollars through MoDOT. The remaining costs will be split between the city and Cole County. Both the county and state have already approved the plans.

After public comment at the previous council meeting, there was some discussion about whether or not the bidding process was fair. Monday, the council talked about the possibility of going through the re-bidding process.

However, Jefferson City Engineer David Bange said that could not only delay the project by one to three months, but it could also jeopardize federal funding if the city chose to go with a different contractor.

“We have about $787,000 worth of federal funds in this project,” Bange said. “And there are certain rules that we have to follow in being able to use those funds. And part of that is not allowing for a local preference.”

Council members Rick Mihalevich and Lara Ward voted against the plans.