COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

After two months of closure, a portion of Clark Lane at Hanover Boulevard in northeast Columbia is expected to reopen Friday afternoon.

Missouri Department of Transportation Improve I-70 Program Director Eric Kopinski told ABC 17 News on Thursday that the road is scheduled to reopen around 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The improvements include a new roundabout, pavement and retaining walls.

“The roundabout will better allow traffic movement in the area for when we connect the westbound entrance and exit ramp that will kind of exit in that area,” Kopinski said.

Kopinski said crews had to work carefully as they reconstructed the area because of extensive drainage work, elevation changes and existing utilities.

“Anyone that travels that route tomorrow or in the future will see that there's some walls in that location,” Kopinski said.

During the closure, drivers were detoured along Ballenger Lane, St. Charles Road, Mexico Gravel Road and Vandiver Drive. According to previous reporting, access to businesses west of the intersection was closed during construction, but drivers could still reach them through Hanover Boulevard.

“With the improvements to the Highway 63 Interchange and I-70, the roundabout will help traffic flow more efficiently and improve safety in the area,” Kopinski said.

Some of the detours directed drivers through residential neighborhoods, raising safety concerns for residents.

Ceara Houston, a Columbia native who lives along Rice Road, said she is looking forward to the roundabout opening, particularly because of concerns about speeding in her neighborhood.

“I'm extremely happy that it's opening so that the people from up top can stop speeding through this neighborhood where all of our children play,” Houston said.

Houston is interested to see how the new roundabout will affect traffic in the area. However, she said she does not believe roundabouts will solve every traffic problem, adding that she thinks the city has too many of them.

The city announced Thursday that Go COMO’s Blue Route will return to its normal route on Saturday.

The reopening comes as the City of Columbia moves forward with plans to improve a 1.32-mile stretch of Clark Lane through a $10.5 million grant agreement with the Federal Highway Administration.

The planned corridor improvements include lower speed limits, four additional speed limit signs, eastbound and westbound bicycle lanes, four vehicle lanes, a six-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot-wide multi-use trail on the south side.

John Ogan, a spokesman for the city's Public Works Department, told ABC 17 that the grant agreement has been finalized and the city is now waiting for the grant funds to be released.

Meanwhile, drivers traveling between Boonville and Kingdom City could see additional changes next weekend. MoDOT plans to demolish two bridges in Kingdom City that officials have described as being “at the end of their life.”