FOCUS ON SCOTT CITY INTERCHANGE LONG OVERDUE

Recently, problems at the Scott City interchange on Interstate 55 have been much in the news. When it comes to addressing these problems, there is both good and bad news.

Population growth, combined with increasing industrial activity have put far more traffic on this interchange than it was ever supposed to handle when it was designed in the 1960s. It isn't uncommon, during the morning rush hour, for there to be a 25-minute wait for west-bound traffic coming through town on Main Street to make it through this badly-overcrowded interchange. The immediate threat to safety is even worse during the evening rush hour, especially for southbound traffic coming off the interstate and attempting to exit at the same interchange. This traffic stacks up to a dead stop on the interstate, threatening all southbound traffic passing through with the possibility of rear-end collisions.

Officials at the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department are aware of the situation and are developing both short- and long-term action plans. MoDOT district engineer Scott Meyer and other MoDOT officials recently attended a meeting of the Scott City Chamber of Commerce called to discuss the problems. Meyer spoke to short-term action and offered several steps he said the department could take. First is the erection of signs along I-55 warning motorists of the possibility of traffic back-ups. Another is the creation of more of what the traffic professionals call "stacking capacity" through and additional lane for southbound traffic exiting I-55. On the east side, extension of James Street to connect to the northbound on-ramp would alleviate some of the congestion and allow for more efficient traffic flow.

Long-term solutions will likely include: Building a second left-turn lane for southbound traffic exiting I-55; more extensive redesign of the entire interchange; and possible construction of a second interchange at PP, approximately one mile south, which could handle lots of Kelso-area traffic and take it off this interchange.

A continuing problem is MoDOT funding, woes that are much-discussed statewide. We salute MoDOT for getting their personnel to this meeting with Scott City officials and encourage them in their efforts to meet this challenge.