SIKESTON—For two weeks, the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Southeast District accepted feedback for a proposed road diet on Business 60/Pine Street in Poplar Bluff, Missouri. A road diet would include reconfiguring Business 60 from an undivided 4-lane roadway to a 3-lane with one eastbound lane, a center turn lane and one westbound lane.
“Reconfiguring with a road diet would offer safety benefits, create wider driving lanes and allow MoDOT to complete signal updates to improve efficiency,” said MoDOT Project Manager Curt Woolsey.
The initial proposed project included a road diet from 10th Street to Route B as part of the plans to resurface Business 60 from Route W to Route B.
“We will honor our commitments and will continue with plans to resurface Business 60. However, based on input during public outreach and talks with stakeholders, we have gone back to the drawing board to modify the plans for a road diet,” he said.
MoDOT is now looking to change the limits of the road diet to only include Business 60 east of the Black River. Woolsey cited many of those in opposition had concerns about the transition that would occur around the bridges over the Black River.
“While we did have some support for implementing a road diet in entirety, we did receive a fair amount of opposition. However, many of those in opposition stated they did see more merit in the section east of the Black River,” said Woolsey.
Based on the public’s feedback coupled with the traffic analysis, MoDOT is exploring this option for a road diet.
“Completing the road diet east of the Black River still allows us to address the curve between Peach Street and C Street,” he added. “Signals are not located in this section of Business 60, so this would not include updating the signals to allow more green time.”
The resurfacing project is anticipated to be let in April 2025, with completion of the project anticipated in fall 2026.
“MoDOT appreciated the input from local residents who drive the route weekly or even daily and collaborating with stakeholders,” he said. “This is a great example of how important feedback is to MoDOT, especially during the project development stage.”
To learn more, please visit www.modot.org/PBRoadDiet.
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