Around the District

Construction projects abound through District 4. It is the busiest construction season District 4 has ever had! Every county has projects in process. Review some of the most current projects for your county that are under construction. 

Listen up! 71 Corridor Podcasts Delivers the Facts

Since MoDOT started construction on the 71 corridor, we've had lots of feedback from citizens. Well, we have heard from you, and the No. 1 question is: Why so many projects at one time?

In our debut video on 71 Highway, Perry Allen, Construction and Materials Engineer, explains why two years of construction pain is better than six years of construction headaches.

This is the first in a series of two minute podcasts and covers all three projects and the overall construction time line. Current construction includes:

• Reconstruction of the Route 150 interchange at Route 71 includes removal and replacement of the Route 71 bridges over Route 150. On track to be complete by mid-2010. This project is $21 million.

• The 163rd Street interchange, which serves traffic coming from Route Y in Cass County, will be reconstructed in the next two years by adding wider ramps and bridges. This $11 million cost share with Belton will be complete in early 2010.
  

• The widening of Route 150 from just east of Route 71 in Grandview to just west of Route 291 in Lee’s Summit also has begun. The eight-mile-long project will lower hills, fill valleys and provide two 11-foot-wide lanes in each direction. Complete by late 2011, this project costs $38 million.

For more information, review the 71 Corridor Website at http://www.modot.org/kansascity Have a comment or question about this project? E-mail us at kccommunityrelations@modot.mo.gov

Taking it Deep: Recycling Process Perfect for Rough Stretch of Road

A unique environmentally friendly process took one of the worst roads in Cass County and transformed it in just a few weeks.

The six-mile stretch of crumbling two-lane Route Y east of Cleveland has been pounded by fully-loaded trucks coming and going from two nearby rock quarries. But thanks to  the environmentally friendly process, known as full-depth reclamation (FDR), that same stretch of road is now smooth and easy.

The process began by milling the top layer of asphalt, then grinding and pulverizing more than a foot deep of asphalt, rock and soil below. Crews stabilized the base by mixing it with Portland cement and topped it with a new 3-inch-thick asphalt driving surface.

Poor soil conditions under the original pavement, plus layers of old pavement, combined with the age of the road contributed to its poor condition. The full-depth reclamation process is several times more costly than a typical milling and asphalt overlay but MoDOT engineers determined that the extensive treatment was necessary to survive the more extreme demands created by heavy truck traffic.

The $1 million project was done in two stages: Route D to the Beyer quarry and Beyer quarry to Route YY.

For more information, click on the video to watch FDR in action. Or visit www.modot.org/kansascity.

Teen Drivers Are At Higher Risk to Die in Car Crashes

It's a fact: Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people 15-20 years old. Unfortunately for these kids, they overlooked the single best factor for surviving a crash: Seat belts. Eight out of 10 teens killed in traffic crashes are not wearing a seat belt.

This year, National Teen Driver Safety Week is Oct. 18-24, and MoDOT is encouraging 100 percent of teens to buckle up and Arrive Alive.

To support maximum seat belt usage, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety sponsors the 2009 Battle of the Belt Challenge through October and November. The goal of the program is to educate young drivers about safety belt use, reduce traffic crash injuries and save lives.

The coalition is also hosting a "Get Your Buckle On" video contest. Click on the latest winning entry that encourages teens to buckle up, every time.

Unfortunately the failure to click it is not the only factor in teen driver fatalities. One that is overlooked is passenger distractions.

According to the Ride Like A Friend program, “Just one teen passenger doubles the risk a teen driver will get into a fatal crash; three or more passengers quadruples the risk.”

Buckling up, limiting cell phone conversations, and respecting the driver are some of the ways to reduce distraction and increase driver and passenger safety.

For more information, review MoDOT’s Web site at www.modot.org/kansascity

We Can Save More Lives On the Roadway

More than 12,625 people have lost their lives and almost 800,000 have been injured on Missouri roadways. These numbers are almost equal to the combined populations of St. Louis, Jefferson City and Kansas City. Between 2005 and 2007, there were 491 fatalities just in Kansas City.

In 2004, the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety took an aggressive approach to help curb traffic deaths and injuries and created Missouri’s Blueprint for Safer Roadways. The overriding goal of the blueprint is to to reduce traffic fatalities to 850 or fewer by 2012.

Missouri has been keeping traffic crash data since 1966 and our fatalities have never been recorded at 850 or less. However, in 2006, after the Blueprint went into effect, Missouri experienced the largest fatality reduction in the nation.

The Blueprint outlines eight essential strategies to increase safety for drivers. Some of the highlights include:

• Pass a Primary Safety Belt Law
• Increase enforcement, as well as education on driving safety
• Increase safety features on the road, such as rumble strips, brighter signs and improved shoulders

For more information on road safety, visit MoDOT’s Safety While Driving Website on www.modot.org/kanascity.

Tell It To Us Straight

What's your opinion on the projects on 71? Why is MoDOT working on that road? Why now? Can we get bicycle lanes on this roadway?

Ask us! MoDOT is ready and willing to answer questions, respond to feedback and work with the public on transportation ideas and decisions. In fact, your voice is critical to making the best transportation decisions.

Missourians have many ways to impact transportation decisions from identifying needs to commenting on projects or simply reporting a pothole.

To get in touch with MoDOT, try any one of these methods:

• Call 888.ASK.MODOT (6636) to report road concerns like potholes. A customer service representative will create a report and send it to workers.
• Visit our website and get the latest information about projects, comment online, follow our twitter feed at MoDOT_KC or be a MoDOT Kansas City fan on Facebook.
• Visit with MoDOT staff about issues, needs and concerns. You can call, e-mail or visit in person. As part of the Voice in Transportation Road Show, MoDOT staff regularly travel to key events in all counties.
• Attend public meetings in person or participate in online meetings such as the recent Vivion Corridor meeting to share your perspective.
• Visit with the planning partners for your area. Your elected officials and city and county staff serve as planning partners and have a large voice in transportation decisions.

Start Talking Transportation with MoDOT today! Visit www.modot.org/kansascity to learn more.

Big Changes Coming to Interstate 29/35 and Front Street

Kansas City area residents traveling Interstate 29/35 across the Paseo Bridge should brace themselves for major traffic changes taking place at Front Street – among them, a 35 mph speed limit.

New on- and off-ramps are in use at Front Street now. There is also a “shoofly” (ramps that briefly direct traffic away from the mainline road) in place near the Front Street exits. These ramps enable the contractor to begin construction on a Single-Point Urban Interchange (SPUI). SPUI Construction will begin in the middle of the interstate, so motorists will take the shoofly around “the hole” as the new interchange is built from the inside-out. 

This SPUI will keep interstate traffic flowing overhead while local traffic moves below. One primary set of signals will control all traffic movement.  SPUIs are designed to reduce the number of spots where vehicles could collide, and improve overall traffic mobility. They also require less land to construct. 

This is one of two SPUIs the Missouri Department of Transportation is constructing in the Kansas City metro area. 

Additional kcICON Project information is available at www.kcicon.com.