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Widening a section of Route 13 to a four-lane roadway and other steps to ease congestion and enhance safety between Branson West and Kimberling City are being designed as part of an ongoing effort to improve traffic flow in southern Stone County.
Improvements will enable ambulance, fire and police agencies to respond quicker to emergencies along the Route 13 corridor.
Stone County is attracting more and more permanent residents. Increasing numbers of vacationers visit the area. Both of those factors have made upgrading Route 13 one of the state's highest rural priorities, with funding provided in MoDOT’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
Construction is scheduled for 2011-2012.
Design Aims to Keep Route 13 Traffic Moving
Key features in a proposed design to improve traffic flow on Route 13 between Branson West and Kimberling City:
• Four-lane the existing two-lane road along three miles between the south edge of Branson West and Joe Bald Road.
• Relocate a one-mile section in the Stoneridge area where buildings are too close to the road to fit in more lanes. The relocated piece would be built about 1,000 feet west of the existing road.
• Build a new connector road between the existing highway and the relocated roadway, intersecting the mile-long relocated roadway at about its mid-point. (A traffic signal would be installed on the relocated roadway and its intersection with the new connector road if traffic volumes show a signal is needed.)
• Build left-turn lanes at several intersections, including Stone County Route DD and Route OO.
• Prohibit left-turns where no left-turn lanes are provided. This is intended to keep traffic moving and enhance safety.
• Permit right turns-only at either end of the relocated roadway where it intersects with the existing road.
• Build a climbing lane for northbound traffic south of Joe Bald Road.
• Lengthen existing left-turn lanes at three intersections in Kimberling City -- at Lakeshore Drive, Wildwood Lane/Kissee Avenue and Kimberling Boulevard (north).
To improve traffic flow and accommodate growth, sections of Route 13 were relocated at Reeds Spring in 2003 and Branson West in 2008.
Now, MoDOT is poised to extend improvements further south toward Kimberling City. The need has spurred allocation of up to $20 million for the project to be built in 2011-2012.
MoDOT in recent years looked at various options to improve traffic flow along Route 13 between Branson West and Kimberling City. Public meetings were held in 2005 and 2006 to show people the ideas and obtain comments. The four-laning proposal is less expensive than several of the options that were discussed, but it is expected to help move traffic safely and effectively.
For more information, contact our Springfield District Office at 417-895-7600 or
1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636).
Last updated: June 2009.
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