Henry County – Drivers can expect lane closings at Missouri Route 13 and Business 13 (Calvird Drive) for a project to improve the intersection beginning the week of May 13, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.
Contractor crews will be installing a J-turn in the southbound lanes of Route 13 at Business 13 as part of a project to make safety improvements at 10 intersections along Route 13 between Clinton and Springfield.
During construction, drivers can expect lane closings with crews and equipment close to traffic. At least one lane of traffic will be open in each direction at all times.
Drivers can also expect side roads to be closed at times where crews are set up working.
Drivers who travel through the intersections are urged to use extreme caution and slow down in the work zones.
What are J-Turns? A J-turn is a much safer alternative to traditional intersections on a four-lane high-speed highway. Instead of motorists crossing fast-moving lanes of traffic to get to the opposing lanes, drivers at a J-turn intersection turn right, traveling in the same direction of traffic, merge into the left lane and then make a U-turn in the direction they intend to travel.
According to a University of Missouri study, J-turn intersections can reduce injury and fatality crashes by up to 53-percent.
Although drivers will travel slightly further to get where they want to go, using J-turns can take the same or less time than waiting for a safe and appropriate gap to cross traffic.
J-turns are the best low-cost safety improvements available. For the cost of one interchange with ramps and an overpass, as many as 10 intersections can be converted to J-turns.
For more information about this project including an animation showing how J-turns work, click here to go to the project webpage.
Weather and/or unforeseen issues could alter the work schedule.
Project Information
- Prime contractor: APAC Central, Fayetteville, Ark.
- Estimated total project cost: $12.9 Million
- Project completion date: November 15, 2019
(For more information, call MoDOT in Springfield at 417-895-7600 or visit www.modot.org/southwest)
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