By DOUG WILSON

Herald-Whig Senior Writer

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- It's hard to miss the big orange sign near the U.S. 36-U.S. 24 intersection west of Hannibal.

Missouri Department of Transportation Northeast District Engineer Paula Gough said the sign telling motorists about "road work next 52 miles" is something that has not been seen in recent history.

"In the past MoDOT was limited to 10-mile projects. With the U.S. 36 project, we've got three contracts covering all 52 miles, and all three are active projects," Gough said.

The relaxed rules about project size arose because of a combination of some recent MoDOT experiments and the unique nature of the state's largest local cost-share construction project.

Tom Boland, a former chairman of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, said it has taken a huge regional effort to get the four-lane upgrade under construction.

Residents of four counties approved a half-cent sales tax in 2005 to fund up to half the project's cost. In return, the state promised to complete the work by the end of 2010. Since then, work has progressed so quickly that it appears people will be driving on a four-lane highway by the end of 2009.

Steve Spegal, MoDOT senior construction inspector, said work on the shoulders of the new westbound lanes of U.S. 36 should begin next week between the U.S. 24-U.S. 36 interchange and Monroe City.

There are two, 12-foot concrete driving lanes already in place, with a 2-foot right-hand shoulder transition. An 8-foot asphalt shoulder will be added on the right side of the highway and a 4-foot shoulder on the left side.

Spegal believes the westbound lanes will be open to traffic by early to mid-May. After the divided highway is open as far as Monroe City, a short single-lane detour will take eastbound traffic around a railroad overpass while road construction takes place there.

"Our prime contractor's 'guestimate' is that it will open in August," Spegal said.

Contractors doing work between Monroe City and Shelbina will be working on culverts, and those working west of Shelbina will work on the Salt River bridge this summer, Gough said.

Gough lives in Shelbina and travels to Hannibal along U.S. 36 on workdays. She not only sees the progress herself but also hears compliments from friends and neighbors.

"People are amazed at the progress. Even during the winter, they were seeing progress on the highway," she said.

Boland said the community will have another priority once U.S. 36 is completed, with the need for a Hannibal bypass. MoDOT engineers have designed a four-lane route continuing south from the U.S. 24-U.S. 36 interchange and connecting with U.S. 61 south of Hannibal. The bypass would take traffic around the city and avoid congestion and stoplights.

Supporters of the Avenue of the Saints between St. Louis and St. Paul, Minn., have lobbied for construction of the bypass. They say the highway will be a major truck route and the Hannibal segment will be the only choke point after the last two-lane section of the Avenue opens to four-lane traffic in June.

-- dwilson@whig.com/221-3372