County to determine Kansas expansion

|tab|

At the Sept. 5 meeting of the Greene County Commission, officials will likely decide the future southern route of Kansas Expressway.|ret||ret||tab|

Plans are in place to acquire rights of way for an extension of the expressway south from the Springfield city limits near Republic Road to Plainview Road. What is still undecided is where to map the route from Plainview to Steinert Road, approximately one mile north of the Christian County line.|ret||ret||tab|

A deciding vote on this issue was tabled at the August commission meeting. Western District Commissioner Darrell Decker asked for more time to evaluate and discuss the three route options. |ret||ret||tab|

The first and second options are almost a straight line south from Plainview, but would bisect a century-old farm owned by the Steinert family. The third option, which takes the longest course to the southwest, would connect directly to Farm Road 186, also known as Steinert Road.|ret||ret||tab|

"The need for extending Kansas Expressway is very real as far as preserving the corridor," Decker said. "Regardless of who pays for it, and when, we need to map it out now. This area is developing so rapidly don't want to take anyone's homes."|ret||ret||tab|

Of the three, Decker said he wants to hear more discussion on the first and second options for the extension route. "So far (discussion) has been either approve option three or not," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

"All three options are comparable cost-wise," said Bill Robinette, traffic planner for the Greene County Highway Department. "Option three is the longest but will require less cut-and-fill, and will not require the creation of a new intersection at Steinert Road."|ret||ret||tab|

Another challenge is still ahead, Robinette said. Once the route is chosen, the rights-of-way will have be appraised and then acquired.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is going to impact somebody," Robinette said of the future extension. "We just have to try and mitigate that impact."|ret||ret||tab|

Greene County Presiding Commissioner Dave Coonrod said he favors option three, which he believes is the least expensive and most effective.|ret||ret||tab|

"Alternative No. 1 goes right through the living room of a house," Coonrod said. "Alternative No. 2 will require more cut-and-fill. Both would bisect the Steinert Farm, so we would have to condemn a portion of that property."|ret||ret||tab|

Coonrod said that the development of that corridor is needed to alleviate the heavy traffic flow on both U.S. 160 and U.S. 65.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is not Kansas Expressway that started this," Coonrod said. "Springfield, Nixa and Ozark are growing together, U.S. 65 and 160 are at capacity. We need to find a relief valve."|ret||ret||tab|

A related report, the Springfield-Branson Corridor Transportation Study released in May, also identified the need for another traffic artery west of U.S. 160. Initiated in November 1998, the study was funded jointly by federal, state and local governments. |ret||ret||tab|

According to the study, severe traffic congestion is expected to continue between Nixa and Springfield and by 2020, traffic operations on the Springfield-Branson corridor will deteriorate to undesirable levels, experiencing travel demands well beyond the existing routes' physical capacities.|ret||ret||tab|

The planning of the extension is up to Greene County and the city of Springfield. However, Christian County officials have also participated in planning discussions. They hope to see Kansas Expressway extend into Christian County and provide a north-south alternative to U.S. 160 and U.S. 65.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is essential," said Bill Barnett, Christian County commissioner for the western district. "We are growing so fast down here that we already have (traffic) bottlenecks." Barnett said he has attended joint planning meetings on the issue, and that working with the entities invovled would be a learning process.[[In-content Ad]]