HANNIBAL – The third meeting of the Citizen's Advisory Group (CAG) for US 61/Route A intersection improvements in Ralls County will be held Friday, February 10 at 2:30 p.m. at the New London Fire Department in New London. The public and media are invited to attend.
“We have had two meetings so far with our CAG providing excellent feedback,” said MoDOT Area Engineer Brian Haeffner. “The role of the CAG is to provide input to MoDOT and help gauge the interest of those they represent in the community,” he explained. Haeffner said there has also been good public attendance at both meetings, but stresses the purpose of these formal meetings are to allow the CAG members to represent the community. Once a direction has been determined for the type of safety improvement, a public meeting will be held.
“The CAG has asked that we (MoDOT) provide more specific information on three options we are considering which are j-turns and offset left turns, or a combination thereof, which could include acceleration and deceleration lanes,” Haeffner said. He said the group also stresses the importance of slowing traffic down and local and state law enforcement representatives are being encouraged to attend the next meeting. The CAG will compare the options and will provide input on what they believe is the best option to move forward when funding is available.
Members of the CAG who have been invited to participate include Jim Hansen, Missouri State Representative, RC Harlow, Ralls County Commissioner, Mary Jane White with the City of New London, Kyle Ford of Dotson Construction, Brian Boleach of Midwest Railroad, Mark Abel with Abel Oil, and Tanya Taylor with the Ralls County Health Department.