City to close section of First Street for construction project

With work progressing on a project to widen the turning radius at the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and First Street, the city of Concordia will close First Street from the highway to Broadway Street beginning Friday.
Smoky Hill, LLC, Salina, began work this week on the project to widen the shoulder at the intersection to accommodate right turns off of U.S. Highway 81 onto west-bound First Street by agricultural truck traffic.
The contractor will begin setting up traffic control on Friday to move traffic on U.S. 81 to the center lane. As of Friday night, no traffic will be allowed to go west on First Street.
It is estimated that the project will take four to six weeks for completion. The required completion date is June 26.
Cloud County Coop Elevator and Concordia Terminal LLC agreed to contribute 70 percent of the cost of the project with the city paying the other 30 percent.
The engineer's estimated cost of the project was $221,360, plus 15 percent for contingencies, for a total of $254,564.
The Concordia city commission voted to award the project to Smoky Hill, LLC at a cost of $110,687.