PETITIS COUNTY –The Missouri Department of Transportation is hosting an open-house style public hearing for potential improvements on Route 50 and Route 127 in La Monte, MO.
The meeting will be held on Thursday June 27, 2019 between 4 and 6 p.m. at La Monte Elementary School, 301 S. Washington, La Monte MO 65337. MoDOT engineers, staff and community leaders will be on hand to show conceptual drawings, share information on safety improvements and answer questions. All interested persons have the opportunity to their views on the preliminary designs. Click here for further info on this project or to leave comments.
The team is still in the conceptual stage and considering the best option for the traffic, location and health of the community. One of those options, which has worked well in other locations along Highway 50, is the J-Turn.
J-turn intersections have been shown to reduce right angle crashes, or t-bone crashes, which are one of the most deadly. There are several studies about the effectiveness of this alternate including this one through the University of Missouri-Columbia, the results of which include:
- Total crashes have decreased by 25%;
- Fatal crashes have decreased by 88%;
- Serious injury crashes have decreased by 78%;
- Right-angle crashes have decreased by 88%.
In our district, J-turns were installed on Highway 50 and Route 58 in 2015 and Highway 50 and Route 131 in 2017, intersections with similar accidents. Since J-turns were installed, the number and severity of accidents have been significantly reduced. There also have been no fatal accidents at either of these intersections.
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