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A project to widen Route 65 to four-lanes between Fair Grove and Dallas County Route EE near Foose is underway.
Contractor crews will install work zone signs and move in heavy equipment during the week. No immediate traffic disruptions are expected.
A new type of crossover, featuring U-turn lanes instead of straight-across access, will be built at four intersections to enhance safety by reducing right-angle conflict points.
Much of the work on the Route 65 four-laning project will take place AWAY from traffic.
This is the second of three projects to four-lane Route 65 between Springfield and Buffalo. The segment between Springfield and Fair Grove is under construction. The segment between Foose and Buffalo is scheduled to begin later this year.
The project will:
- Add two new driving lanes west of existing Route 65. The new lanes will become the southbound lanes.
- Build new intersections at Dallas County Route AA; Route 215 and Dallas County Route O; Route 38 and Dallas County Route TT; and Dallas County Route EE.
Each of the four new intersections will feature two U-turn crossovers where drivers will NOT meet in the median.
Instead, drivers who want to turn left onto Route 65 or left off of Route 65 will have to use one of the U-turn lanes built 660 feet north and south of the intersection.
Drivers who want to cross Route 65 at one of the four intersections will have to turn right and use one of the new U-turn crossovers 660 feet down the highway.
Signs and pavement striping will clearly mark the U-turn crossovers.
- Existing Route 65 will become the northbound lanes. The section of existing pavement between Route 125 and Dallas County Route AA will be repaired and ground smooth.
- A new bridge will be built to carry the southbound lanes of Route 65 over the Pomme de Terre River just north of Fair Grove.
- The old Pomme de Terre River bridge just west of the existing highway has been torn down to make way for the new bridge.
Traffic Impacts
While traffic disruptions will be minimal during much of the project, drivers will have to travel carefully through the work zone:
- Route 65 traffic will have to be stopped at times for up to 10 minutes at a time when rock is blasted.
- At various times, large dump trucks will travel along Route 65 and drive into and out of various parts of the project.
- A lane of Route 65 will be closed and the speed limit reduced at times when construction activity takes place close to the existing highway.
- When the intersections are rebuilt, one-lane traffic is possible on the side roads.
The project is scheduled for completion in December 2009.
Emery Sapp and Sons of Columbia is the prime contractor, for a low bid amount of $19.7 million.
For more information, contact our Springfield District Office at 417-895-7600 or
1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636).
Last updated: May 2008.
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