LINN – Would you like to get an up-close, behind-the-scenes look at the place where your local highway workers plan and perform roadway maintenance and respond to emergency events such as snow and flooding?
The opportunity is available to you on Monday, October 23 when MoDOT will celebrate the opening of its new maintenance facility at 143 Commercial Drive in Linn. The open house will take place from 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend, and refreshments will be served.
Be sure to bring your kids, because MoDOT’s gigantic work zone mascot, Barrel Bob, will be there and several pieces of the equipment MoDOT uses to maintain the area’s roads and bridges will be on display. MoDOT staff will also be on hand to explain how the machinery works. Attendees are encouraged to bring a camera or smartphone to take photos of themselves with Barrel Bob and the equipment.
The new Linn facility replaces an aging facility that was originally built in 1951 and could no longer meet the ever-expanding demands of highway maintenance and emergency event response. Linn’s new facility has more than 11,000 additional square feet when compared to the old facility.
“MoDOT had outgrown the old Linn maintenance lot,” said General Services Manager Phil Hamilton. “The buildings were too small to function efficiently given the size of the newer, modern equipment. The maintenance lot was also very small, and during snow events, there wasn’t enough room for employee parking combined with snow event operations. The newer lot and buildings promote a safer, more productive work environment.”
For more information about this facility or for other transportation matters, visit www.modot.org/central or call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636).