An effort to increase safety and make driving-surface improvements on various roadways in Cooper and Howard County are scheduled to begin next week.

Starting Monday, April 5, a contractor working for the Missouri Department of Transportation is set to begin guardrail replacement work on the Cooper County Route B Bridge over Moniteau Creek, north of Tipton, and the Howard County Route W bridges over Moniteau Creek and Bonne Femme Creek, east of Fayette. This work is expected to take one week.

As part of this project, the contractor also will be conducting seal-coat operations on Route B, between Route U and U.S. Highway 50 near Tipton in Cooper County; Howard County Route W, between Highway 240 and Route A; and Howard County Route EE, between Route A and Route J. This work is expected to begin later this spring.

This work will require daily lane closures, and flaggers will be used to guide motorists through the work zones. Signs will be in place to alert motorists of the lane closures. Drivers will need to slow down and obey all signs in work zones.

The project is expected to be completed by September 2021.

This work is weather permitting and could be delayed.