Part of Business Loop 70 closed for railroad track removal

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A portion of Business Loop 70 in Columbia will be closed from Wednesday, July 10 at 6 a.m. to Thursday, July 11 at 5 p.m. as construction crews work to remove the railroad tracks.

According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, crews from the City of Columbia and the MoDOT will be removing the unused railroad tracks between Edison Street and Bowling Street in central Columbia. Upon removal, MoDOT crews will place concrete pavement in that area. Later this summer, Business Loop 70 will be resurfaced.

I spoke with the owner of Columbia Welding and Machine Steve Curry and he told me that the construction hasn't affected his business, it's just added unusual traffic to his parking lot.

"I personally like it because, I drive a truck for our company also, and we have to go across that railroad track that is very dilapidated because of unused," Curry said. "So, it would be nice to have a smooth concrete surface instead of having to go towards the middle lane to try to get across the railroad tracks and not jostle things off my truck."

While Curry has never had any damage done to his vehicles or contents of the vehicles because to the road conditions, Columbia resident Shawn Young had damage to his truck while driving over these railroad tracks.

"I was doing the speed limit, and I struck those railroad tracks and the potholes over there," Young said. "Which caused damage to my front driver's side rim and both my tires, it caused me to have two flat tires."

The Go COMO orange bus route has set up a detour as riders will not be able to access the Ashley Street Center bus stop because of this closure. A temporary bus stop is set up at the corner of Lakeview Avenue and Stone Street.