Local and state authorities met Wednesday to set road and bridge project priorities for the next year.
"We probably haven't done a good enough job reaching out to people in the area in the past," said David Bock, executive director of the Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Commission. "It's nice to have more people at the table."
The Mid-Mo RPC is a voluntary association of local governments in the six-county region of Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard and Moniteau. One of its tasks is communicating the region's roadwork priorities to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Wednesday's gathering included representatives from MoDOT, Callaway County and the cities of Fulton, Kingdom City and Holts Summit. Meeting participants went down a list of past suggested road and bridge projects, determining which were still top priorities and what new ideas should be added.
As MoDOT engineer Mike Shoup pointed out, there's only so much money to go around for the region.
"Our last gas tax increase was in 1996," he said. "There's no new funds."
He said that projects pertaining to public safety, or affecting the whole region, have a greater chance of receiving funding.
Assembled local leaders picked out a "Top Three" list of projects.
In Fulton, the city wants to add a roundabout at the Route F/U.S. 54 interchange. This should help slow drivers as they enter town, city Administrator Bill Johnson said.
The second high-priority project is adding a third lane to U.S. 54 on the Callaway County side, right before the Missouri River bridge.
"That project has been a high priority to relieve congestion," Bock said.
Last but not least: Something needs to be done about the Kingdom City Interstate 70/ U.S. 54 interchange, everyone agreed.
"It's bad in the spring, summer and fall," said Larry Doyle, Kingdom City's assistant city manager. "I've heard it sometimes took over two hours this summer for people to get back to the highway from McDonald's."
City Manager Curt Warfield agreed.
"The interchange barely supports the traffic as it is," he said. "It won't support it at all in five years."
He said the traffic makes people reluctant to stop in Kingdom City, draining the town of potential sales tax dollars.
"If we don't improve that intersection, it's going to hurt all of us," Fulton City Councilperson Mary Rehklau said.
Fulton update
Fulton city engineer Kyle Bruemmer shared an update on work currently being carried out on U.S. Business 54 and Fourth Street.
The $3.7 million Business 54 project is a partnership between the Missouri Department of Transportation and the City of Fulton. The work includes resurfacing of Business 54 from Callaway County Route H to U.S. 54 on the north side of Fulton, as well as sidewalk and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) pedestrian upgrades along Business 54. The improvement work also includes resurfacing Silver Drive.
Contractors are currently carrying out quality control testing on the recently poured asphalt, and have also begun levelling a few rough spots.
They're also installing traffic signal loops.
"Fifth Street will be a traffic issue," Bruemmer said. "They'll have to take up bricks to install the loops, then put them back down."
Progress also continues on Fourth Street. Bruemmer noted due to cold temperatures, it will likely not be possible to pour fresh asphalt until spring.