A two part reconstruction project in Brown and Nemaha Counties is set to begin Monday, including a 5 mile section of U.S. Highway 75, from Sabetha to the Kansas Nebraska state line in the two counties. 

Work will include culvert box and pipe extensions, shoulder reconstruction, bridge replacement and concrete surfacing of mainline lanes and shoulders. 

Currently, the roadway consists of asphalt pavement with rock shoulders. 

To accomplish the improvements, crews will mill away 3 inches of existing asphalt and replace it with 4 inches of new concrete and new 7 foot paved concrete shoulders. 

The work is scheduled to take place during the daytime, primarily Monday through Friday, but some Saturday hours may be possible. 

The project will also include the replacement of the U.S. Highway 75 bridge over Rock Creek, standing near the Kansas/Nebraska state line. 

The existing 26 foot wide reinforced concrete girder structure will be replaced with a 44 foot wide reinforced concrete slab structure. 

As the new bridge is being built, a shoofly will be constructed, and in place by this fall, to serve as a detour route for traffic. 

Once that happens, the existing bridge will be demolished. 

The work beginning Monday is expected to have little to no impact on traffic, until the fall, and will be conducted by Koss Construction Inc based in Topeka. 

Serving as the primary contractor for the work, the company will complete the project at a cost of 7.665 million dollars. 

Overall project work is expected to be completed by October 2013 if the weather allows.