Shelby Road Closed For Months By Developers
Poplar Bluff, Mo – In November 2010, Shelby Road opened and provided a much need thoroughfare from Westwood Blvd to PP Highway. The new road also provided much-needed access to Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center. But in May of this year, a section of the road from Westwood Blvd to Oak Grove road was completely closed by the developers of Eight Points and Southern Bank’s new bank building.
The 3-year old Shelby Road has been completely destroyed from the monster land movers passing across and back; moving dirt from the Eight Points side (east side) of Shelby Road to the Southern Bank side (west side).
A City Official told SEMO Times that Shelby Road is currently closed because of the rebuilding of the roadway north of Oak Grove Road. He said it has only been closed a couple weeks , and it is anticipated to re-open in mid-August.
The two-week time-frame is odd seeing as how the “ROAD CLOSED” signs went up on May 5th (according to the DAR) of this year and this week marks the 13th week of its closing.
Engineering estimates for that portion of the road show nearly $200,000 to construct:
| Shelby Road Paving From Oak Grove to Westwood – PLUS LABOR | ||||
| Item | Quantity | Unit | Unit Price | Total |
| Prepare Subgrade | 12.5 | STA | $ 350.00 | $ 4,375.00 |
| Aggregate Base | 6670 | SY | $ 4.75 | $ 31,682.50 |
| Concrete Pavement | 6670 | SY | $ 22.35 | $ 149,074.50 |
| Type AB Shoulder | 1110 | SY | $ 6.00 | $ 6,660.00 |
According to Poplar Bluff Interim City Manager, Mark Massingham, the road is expected to be open within three to four weeks. He was not aware of any agreement of compensation the city required of Southern Bank or Eight Points Development to close the city’s road for the original 8 weeks. Neither was there any stipulated penalty for additional weeks of closure.
Shelby Road from Hwy 67 looking toward Oak Grove Road
These two developers have completely destroyed the $200,000 investment made by the city only three years ago and have stripped the area of a vital access way for three months now…and here’s the kicker:
YOU PAID FOR IT!
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