Vandiver Drive Extension, Upper Hinkson Sewer Project

Where: From Vandiver Drive at U.S. Highway 63 to Mexico Gravel Road. The extension crosses a new bridge spanning the upper Hinkson Creek.

Contractor: Emery Sapp and Sons

Cost: $6.7 million

Status: Work began in March and is scheduled to be finished in December.

Why: The extension will improve transportation between the northeast and northern quadrants of Columbia by providing access to U.S. 63, Vandiver Drive and Mexico Gravel Road. The construction workers are extending Vandiver Drive to run parallel to U.S. 63 and connect to Mexico Gravel Road. A two-lane bridge will replace a narrow one-lane bridge that spanned the Hinkson Creek. There will be two new roundabouts: one at the intersection of Vandiver Drive and the U.S. 63 interchange and another where Mexico Gravel Road meets with the Vandiver Extension and the new bridge. Environmental infrastructure will also be improved as part of the project. An inadequate sewer line and pump station along on the creek will be replaced. The two projects have been major city road plans for years that were passed in the 2003 and 2005 ballot issues.