Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

The Meramec Region’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) decided the expansions of Highways 63 and 50 to four-lane corridors remain the number one and two regional transportation priorities, respectively, at its December meeting. The proposed projects on Highway 63 and Highway 50 have topped the regional priority list for several years.

Once it was decided these two projects should continue to be top priorities for the region, TAC members from each county shared the top three additional transportation needs from their counties. The TAC then voted to prioritize these additional needs on a regional level. The prioritized list was approved later in evening by the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) board and will now be shared with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Central District office for the projects for consideration for inclusion in MoDOT’s Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The STIP is a five-year plan for design and construction projects.

In addition to the projects on Highways 63 and 50, other items topping the TAC’s priority list, in order of priority, are:

• Addressing safety concerns at the Gasconade County R-2 school entrances and Owensville industrial park entrance from the Highway 28 junction to north city limits on Hwy 19 in Owensville;
• Replacement of the one-lane bridge over Little Bourbeuse River on Route C in Crawford County;
• Improving traffic flow on Highway 63 in Rolla from University Drive to the Interstate 44 overpass;
• Safety improvements at the intersections of MO 19 and Roosevelt St. and MO 19 and Franklin St. in Salem;
• Replacement of bridge over Dry Creek on MO 49 in Crawford County;
• Safety improvements at intersection of MO 133 and US 63 in Osage County near Westphalia;
• Asphalting county road approaches along the state highways in Maries County;
• Adding shoulders and addressing alignment concerns on MO 68 from the Phelps County Line to Route 19 in Dent County;
• Capacity and safety improvements at the Hwy V/I-44 north interchange near Rolla in Phelps County; and
• Replacement of the bridge over Fourche A Renault Creek on Route AA in Washington County.

The priority list is an annual planning exercise for the TAC.

Also during the evening, the TAC reviewed a list of high severity accident locations and prioritized those for consideration for road safety audits.

The TAC also heard presentations from six Meramec Region cities – Belle, Potosi, St. James, Waynesville, Rolla and Salem – on sidewalk improvements through MoDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

The top three, as ranked by the TAC, are:

• Replacement of sidewalks along Johnson Avenue to make the connection between the school and proposed Rock Island Trail in Belle;
• Sidewalk and accessibility connections between school, community center and park in Salem; and
• Accessibility and connectivity improvements to sidewalks and shoulders on Historic Route 66 in Waynesville.

The projects are among some 23 requests in MoDOT’s 18-county central district.

Persons needing more information on MRPC’s Transportation Advisory Committee may contact MRPC at (573) 265-2993. The group will meet again at 4 p.m. Feb. 16 at MRPC, 4 Industrial Dr., St. James. Meetings are open to the public.

Public Works Director Lyle Thomas (left) and City Administrator Harold Selby present on their Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) application for the city of St. James on Dec. 8 at the Meramec Region Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting. The project would improve sidewalk safety and accessibility and remove several problem trees that are the cause of the sidewalk problems.