Patch work started on Roelker Road this week after the Wright City Board of Aldermen awarded a bid to Mid Rivers Asphalt on April 22. 

The bid to Mid Rivers was for a unit price of roughly $70 per square yard of asphalt and Mayor Michelle Heiliger said the city expects to spend roughly $100,000 on this phase of the project. 

Mid Rivers will be replacing the rock base and laying asphalt on the rock patches that dot the road. The majority of the patches are near the new Wright City High School although there is one in the northbound lane just north of the railroad tracks as well. 

Public Works Director Kyle Roettger said he had been identifying a couple other areas in the road that are failing and Mid Rivers will be conducting work on those areas as well. 

“For the past two weeks public works has been out on Roelker Road tearing out additional patches where base failure was present, establishing new gravel bases as well as maintaining the patches that are out there to maintain a drivable standard,” said Roettger. 

The patch repairs from Mid Rivers were expected to take two days and were expected to be completed on April 30. 

Roettger also said public works expected to receive a V-bucket attachment for an excavator that they will use to start work on ditch lines for the road. 

Heiliger clarified the city is dividing the project on Roelker into three phases, the first being the repair of the rock patches. The second will include the overlay of the road and the third will include the widening of the road and the addition of the turn lane in front of the new high school. 

While the city is working with a tight deadline, the goal is to have the project completed before the start of the 2025-26 school year, although Roettger has acknowledged there is no certainty they will meet that deadline. 

The board also granted authority to the mayor to approve elevation plans for the road that were received from Cochran Engineering at their April 24 meeting. 

“We received these last night at like five o’clock, so we haven’t had time to meet about them, but we also don’t want to wait,” said Heiliger. 

The board unanimously granted Heiliger the authority to approve the plans to keep the project moving as quickly as possible. 

Heiliger had previously stated those elevation plans were to ensure the work on Roelker would not negatively impact the drainage of the road onto adjacent properties. 

Roettger said he was not ready to comment on the plans at the meeting either since he had not had time to review the plans. 

Alderman Ramiz Hakim wanted to clarify that any bid materials would still have to be approved by the board. 

“We’re not authorizing to go out for bid, you’re just authorizing the preliminary plans then they’re gonna put bid packets together, final construction plans, because people can’t bid on this right now,” said City Clerk Abbie Ogborn. 

Ogborn said once bid packets were prepared and approved the city expected to go out for bid some time around the end of May into the beginning of June. 

“All we’re doing is telling them move forward and give us a construction plan,” said Heiliger.