Businesses prep for holiday

Transportation officials offer suggestions for safe travels

Cookie Huss, manager of Ozarkland in Kingdom City, gives homemade fudge samples to John Sutton and his family, traveling from St. Louis to Kansas City on Wednesday.
Cookie Huss, manager of Ozarkland in Kingdom City, gives homemade fudge samples to John Sutton and his family, traveling from St. Louis to Kansas City on Wednesday.

KINGDOM CITY, Mo. - Situated along the Interstate 70 corridor with a turnoff to a Missouri vacation hotspot, business people in Kingdom City are ramping up for Memorial Day travelers.

"I'm expecting a great weekend, to be honest," said Cookie Huss, manager of Ozarkland in Kingdom City.

According to Huss, the three-day Memorial Day weekend is a busy time as travelers head to the Lake of the Ozarks. Ozarkland, which has become a necessary stop for road-weary travelers, is also preparing for a big weekend on par with weekends of the past.

"We are making extra candy and will have a few extra slabs of fudge, just in case," said Huss. "We have people that came here when they were kids who are now bringing their kids and grandkids."

According to AAA officials, there will be 33.9 million drivers traveling 50 or more miles this holiday weekend. Gas prices are nearly 50 cents lower per gallon in comparison to this time last year, resulting in a rise of a projected 700,000 travelers over the weekend.

Sally Oxenhandler, the Central District communications manager for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said accommodations are being made for the increase in travelers.

"We look at the signals near Kingdom City and adjust them accordingly to the traffic volume," said Oxenhandler. "We have folks on call just to help with traffic management if needed."

Preparations are also being made by other businesses to accommodate the rush.

"We are expecting a lot of business; we should get hit pretty hard here," said Mike Bird, a server at Denny's in Kingdom City. "We have more staff scheduled to work the weekend."

With such a large increase in traffic, drivers should plan for delays.

"Plan ahead and allow extra time for travel because there will be more people," said Oxenhandler. "They can look at the traveler information map on our website to see real-time traffic flow."

One of the major obstacles drivers will face this Memorial Day holiday is construction. Construction zones can be especially dangerous for unaware drivers.

"Driving too closely and driver inattention are the top two causes of work zone crashes," said MODOT Chief Engineer Ed Hassinger. "Please pay attention, put down your phone and drive safely in work zones; we want you and our workers to make it home safely."

Michael Right, vice president of Public Affairs at AAA in St. Louis, agreed.

"We have several significant road projects throughout the summer," he said.

One of the more notable projects, according to Right, is the U.S. Highway 54 bridge painting work north of Jefferson City.

"The bridge at Jefferson City might be congested," said Right. "I'd allow extra time to get through there."

Right also advised drivers to be extra cautious when operating a vehicle.

"Don't drink alcohol if you are going to drive, and make sure all passengers are properly secured," he said.

Right also said drivers should make sure they set realistic expectations for traveling.

"Get as much rest before you start, and don't drive at times when you are normally asleep," he said. "It's best to build as much flexibility into the schedule as you can."

John Sutton of St. Louis said he and his family were going to Kansas City for the holiday weekend. According to Sutton, they plan on traveling back home on Saturday.

"We'll be driving back on Saturday to beat the traffic," said Sutton. "We made sure we didn't have a rigid schedule."

Oxenhandler said MODOT officials are optimistic about easy travel conditions on Memorial Day weekend.

"All of these things will make for a happy holiday and safe travels for everyone," he said.