The interchange of I-44 and Highway 65 is one of several road projects progressing on schedule

A recent survey of truck drivers nationwide, conducted by Overdrive magazine, listed Interstates 44 and 70 in Missouri as among Top 3 most improved roads in the nation.

Completed improvements include smoother pavement, brighter road striping and median guard cables on both roadways.

Many southwest Missouri highways are getting similar facelifts.

Major projects currently under way include the interchange at I-44 and U.S. Highway 65; the widening of West Bypass; I-44 interchanges in Mount Vernon; and widening of State Highway 13 north of Springfield.

Angela Eden, senior community relations specialist for the Missouri Department of Transportation in Springfield, said work remains on pace at I-44 and U.S. Highway 65, where $25 million worth of improvements will replace the antiquated and dangerous cloverleaf-style junction currently in use. She said bridge girders for the new northbound-to-westbound ramp should go up later this month, providing visible progress – though crews already have been working on stormwater improvements.

“They’ve been working a lot on the big box culverts that people normally don’t see, but they’re a really important part of any of our projects,” Eden said of the work that began in July 2006.

The interchange is scheduled for completion in May 2008.

Meanwhile, work continues on the widening of West Bypass north of Chestnut Expressway. That $12.8 million project, which will make West Bypass four lanes from James River Freeway to I-44, is expected to be complete this fall.

U.S. Highway 65 is scheduled to receive improvements in northern Greene and southern Dallas counties. A $65 million widening project on a 23-mile stretch of the highway between Springfield and Buffalo will make the highway four lanes; work is scheduled to begin this year and be complete by 2010.

The new projects are certain to improve the image of southwest Missouri highways for the trucking industry, though Eden said truckers are not the main emphasis when making road improvement decisions.

“When we build projects, big trucks are one part of the whole big picture,” Eden said. “Most of the projects that we do are to alleviate congestion problems and safety concerns, and any time we make an improvement to an interchange area that connects two major highways, like I-44 and U.S. 65, it’s going to benefit everyone. If it benefits the trucking industry in the long term, that’s icing on the cake.”

Seeing the impact

Jim Anderson, president of the Spring-field Area Chamber of Commerce, said area road improvements could have an impact similar to what was seen with the completion of the James River Freeway.

“It hasn’t been too many years ago that we cut the ribbon on James River Freeway,” Anderson said. “We just did the ribbon cutting on the piece that hooks into I-44 about three years ago. All of the business along James River Freeway didn’t exist then, and now look at it. The transportation corridor is a magnet for business development, and I think that same thing will happen as these improvements are being done.”

In Mount Vernon, a new five-lane bridge at the interchange of I-44 and State Highway 39 will replace a two-lane bridge that connects to the city’s business loop.

“We’re having a lot of interest in that area – commercial interest,” said Mount Vernon City Administrator John Rice. “Developers and others will see that those things are going to be done, and we get the feeling from some people who are interested in Mount Vernon that they’re waiting to see how this develops before making a decision about the area.”

Rice cited U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt as a catalyst for getting the funding for the $14 million project, which will likely begin in the summer of 2010.

Work also continues on the widening of U.S. 65 south of Branson, which began in 2004 and is scheduled for completion in 2008. That project, coupled with the work north of Springfield, will make U.S. 65 four lanes from the Arkansas state line to Buffalo – a stretch of more than 80 miles.

Finding the money

Deciding which roads to improve is not nearly as difficult as figuring out when the projects will begin. That decision, MoDOT’s Eden said, depends mostly on what money is available.

MoDOT’s 2007 construction budget for the Springfield region is $102 million, though that figure does not include funds for I-44/Highway 65 interchange or the West Bypass widening that were allocated in previous years’ budgets.

“We work with the local metropolitan planning organization and regional planning commissions to determine transportation priorities across the state,” she said. “Then we take those projects to the statewide major projects task force, and they’re voted on to see which projects end up being highest priority. Once they’re on the list, as funding becomes available, they get put on our five-year plan.”

The West Bypass project, for example, has been ongoing since 1998, when the street was widened to four lanes between Chestnut Expressway and Sunshine Street. That project, however, was funded partially by Springfield’s 1/8-cent sales tax for transportation projects.

North-south corridor plans up for review