MoDOT prepares to start phase two of I-70 repair study

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A study of improvements to Interstate 70 is entering its second phase -- a two-year, $16 million effort to gather more detailed information about widening the highway.

Although no money is in sight for the proposed $3 billion project, Department of Transportation officials say it is important to keep studying the option.

"We feel like we need to be going ahead with the study so when we get the funds, we can go ahead with the project," MoDOT Director Henry Hungerbeeler said Friday.

Most members of the state Highways and Transportation Commission concurred, except recent appointee Duane Michie of Hayti.

Study costs millions

"I know we need studies, but that $16 million could go to a lot of projects that are on the table," he said.

Michie said he wasn't aware that the commission was spending so much to study a project that has not yet received financial support.

Other commissioners disagreed. They said they have been working on this issue for a while.

"The commission doesn't start and stop when we get new commissioners," said commissioner Barry Orscheln of Moberly. "This I-70 problem is not new to the rest of us."

So far, the transportation department has spent $3.5 million studying I-70.

In 2000, MoDOT staff recommended the commission rebuild the interstate to fix the deteriorating surface and enlarge its traffic capacity. The proposal also called for adding one lane in each direction in sections that now have two.

Congestion suggestion

On Friday, MoDOT officials told commissioners that if the highway were widened from four total lanes to six, some of the new lanes could be set aside for noncommercial vehicles. Congestion could be reduced significantly, said Dave Nichols, MoDOT director of project development.

The study's second phase will focus on seven regions along I-70 -- such as Columbia, where space for widening is already limited -- so that a formal design can be prepared and construction can begin.

As with the study's first phase, which focused on improvements, public comment will be sought.

The study also will look at alternatives to fix the interstate if money is not available to pay for the full project, Nichols said.

Officials expect the study to be completed by summer 2004.

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On the Net:

Interstate 79 Study: http://www.i70study.org