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COLUMBIA, MO. -- Columbia city and community leaders held a dual groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting ceremony for three capital projects.

Columbia voters approved a quarter-cent sales tax to help pay for an expansion of Mexico Gravel Road, an extension of Vandiver Drive and the Upper Hinkson Creek sewer project.

Crews finished the Vandiver Drive project and the sewer project after more than a year of construction.

The new Vandiver Extension gives motorists better access to Highway 63.

The sewer project replaced sewer lines and eliminated the need for a pump station.

Construction on Mexico Gravel Road from Vandiver Drive to Route PP begins later this month.

Those improvements include a new roundabout, sidewalks and bike lanes.

“The Mexico Gravel Road project is going to be an inconvenience for people who live along it, but it’s going to be a widened road," Columbia Public Works Director John Glascock said. "It’s going to be a straight road and less curvy. They can expect some construction congestion during the summer.”

The cost of the Mexico Gravel Road project is about $4.5 million.

The combination of the Vandiver Drive and sewer projects cost about $7 million.