MoDOT prefers flyover ramps at Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63 connector
The Missouri Department of Transportation prefers a modified interchange with flyover ramps connecting Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 63, officials unveiled Wednesday.
The project would involve tri-level flyover ramps from northbound 63 onto westbound 70 and from eastbound 70 onto southbound 63, completely avoiding the current connector. The project has funding in the 2023-27 Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan and is part of the Improve I-70 initiative.
MoDOT presented three construction alternatives for the connector project in July.
The department shared its preferred alternative Wednesday afternoon during an open house at the Activity and Recreation Center after receiving input from community members in addition to feedback from businesses and government leaders.
Danny Stubblefield, manager of Mark's Mobile Glass on Conley Road near the connector, supports the flyover option. He was at Wednesday's open house with Jared Kempker, son of Mark Kempker, founder of the company.
"I'm glad to see that is the preferred concept," Stubblefield said.
Kempker made note of safety improvements, adding he knows someone who has had two crashes at the connector.
The flyover concept is estimated to cost $80.3 million. Changes to the connector layout into a single-point urban interchange are expected to reduce crashes by 6%, according to MoDOT.
The construction costs for this plan would be the least expensive of the three alternatives.
In a single-point urban interchange, left turns have signal lights and all right turns are yielded.
The interchange in Hannibal at U.S. highways 36 and 61 is comparable to what could happen here, said Brandi Baldwin, Improve I-70 project director.
MoDOT considered stakeholder input and traffic engineering to determine its preferred alternative, Baldwin said.
"Through the engineering, we see traffic really performs the best on the (flyover) preferred alternative," she said.
Groups like the Loop Community Improvement District were part of the related community advisory group, since the flyover option would remove the left-hand exit onto the Business Loop just west of the connector.
The next step for MoDOT is to finish its environmental impact study reevaluation. The most recent study was conducted about 20 years ago and is out of date.
Baldwin encourages people who live adjacent to I-70 and have received a letter from MoDOT seeking information to fill out the form and return it. The letters were sent to residences and businesses along 70 from Route Z (Centralia exit) to Route BB (Rocheport exit). This will help the department complete fieldwork on the reevaluation, Baldwin said.
MoDOT expects to finish the reevaluation by late spring 2023. Then the department will start the design-build process, hoping to select an engineering team by the end of next year.
Once selected, Baldwin expects MoDOT could break ground on the connector project by the end of 2024.
Even with the reevaluation concluding by late spring, another may be needed once a design-build firm is on board based on what is in the final design. Even the preferred alternative could receive further modifications, Baldwin said.
"We are a looking for the best (option). We think Alternative A (the flyover) is a good one, but we want the best one — the most bang for our buck," she said. "All the little plan differences will have to go through a similar environmental process. Because we have done all this work upfront, it should be pretty quick."
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: MoDOT receives feedback on preferred 70/63 traffic solution
