Construction of the new Wright City high school building has caused serious damage to Roelker Road, requiring the addition of steel plates to keep the road drivable.

Six steel plates currently cover the roadway near the entrances to the construction site because of severe damage to the street. The city placed large orange “bump” signs along both sides of the road on April 27 to warn drivers of the temporary repairs.

More than 1,600 dump trucks of gravel have entered the construction site since work began, causing asphalt to crack and buckle on the poorly designed road, according to building official Joe Godier. He said the road should have initially been built with 4 inches of asphalt over 4 inches of substreet.

“This is an ugly situation. … Somebody should be ashamed of themselves when they let that road get paved,” Godier said during the April 27 board of alderman meeting.

The road is deteriorating near the two entrances to the new high school construction site. As heavy and sometimes overweight trucks are stopping and turning into the site, it puts pressure on the asphalt causing it to buckle.

Other temporary fixes were tried, including screening. Godier told the aldermen that the fix didn’t last “two hours.” 

In order to fix the current damage, the damaged sections would need to be torn out and replaced with 8 inches of concrete. Two patches would be needed totaling 7,238 square feet or 183 yards of concrete, according to Kyle Roettger, director of city services.

Wright City R-II school district is responsible for improving the road once construction on the school is complete, so any fixes now would be temporary. Roettger said the cost for the two temporary concrete patches would cost $30,000. Labor would cost more than $70,000, bringing the total to more than $100,000.

“I’m surprised nobody laughed when he said that number,” Godier said.

“I was too busy having a heart attack,” responded alderwoman Karey Owens.

“We’ve got to figure out a different alternative to that,” alderman Ramiz Hakim said.

Fixing the road would also require closing that section of road for at least three days and setting up a detour through the nearby subdivision, using Horseshoe Court, Thoroughbred Drive, and Appaloosa Way to reroute Roelker Road traffic between Veterans Memorial Parkway and Fruit Farm Road.

Wright City R-II Superintendent Christopher Berger said Wright Construction does encourage construction traffic to follow the city’s guidance and that there has been “some compliance to that.” 

For now, the board of aldermen decided to leave the steel plates on the road and monitor the situation.

In addition to the orange “bump” signs, aldermen are also working to get electronic signs on both sides of the road warning drivers about the construction and steel plates.

Berger said he would find out Thursday if more can be done to address the situation.

“I think we’re hoping to get something more permanently fixed because we feel like that deterioration is going to continue.”

Berger also emphasized the strong relationship between the school and city.

“There are issues all the time between entities here in Warren County. We have a history of working together to get those things done and I’m sure that’s how this will pan out in the end,” Berger said.