Independence, MO —

Eastern Independence’s route to progress is well under way.

The Little Blue Parkway, a $50 million, four-lane, divided roadway beginning just north of where Selsa Road runs into 39th Street and ending at U.S. 24, is expected to bring 20,000 new people, 7,000 new homes and 5,000 new jobs to 32 miles of previously undeveloped property in Independence.

According to Independence Public Works Director John Powell, the Little Blue Parkway is on schedule.

“We’re right on target for where we anticipate being,” Powell said. “We’re still looking to have it all done by the end of 2010.”

He said phase four, which will account for the parkway’s beginning at 39th Street and concluding at R.D. Mize Road, is about 45 percent complete. That section, which is estimated to cost $19.5 million, will include a raised median and a bridge over Crackerneck Creek.

“We have quite a bit of grading we’ll have to hold off on until spring because of the hardness of the ground,” Powell said. “Right now, we’re focusing on utility work and bridges.”

According to Powell, the bridge over Crackerneck Creek is about half complete with the substructure finished. He said the intersection at 39th Street and Little Blue Parkway should reopen sometime in late spring. He said the first 1,200 feet of Selsa Road is temporary.

“The old road was taken out for grading work,” he said.

Powell said its new location will follow roughly the same path as the temporary route only the width and elevation will differ.

The fifth phase of the project, a 4,000-foot length of road stretching from R.D. Mize to Necessary Road, is in pre-construction. That portion of Little Blue Parkway will include a sidewalk and a multi-use pathway.

“We’ve acquired the land and should have it out for bids soon,” Powell said. “We’d like to begin construction this spring.”

Powell said it is possible that different contractors may be hired for different stages of the project.

“For a project of this size, it’s more manageable to break it into pieces,” he said. “We may have as many as three contracts active in 2009 at the same time.”

R.D. Mize Road is currently being widened to four lanes from Hidden Valley Road to Little Blue Parkway. The $2 million project is estimated to be complete by this summer.