Grant, a resident at the Whispering Pines Retirement Community in Warrenton, hopes those days are past. He attended a brief ceremony held Friday, May 29, at the site of the recently completed Highway …
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Grant, a resident at the Whispering Pines Retirement Community in Warrenton, hopes those days are past. He attended a brief ceremony held Friday, May 29, at the site of the recently completed Highway 47/Warrior Avenue widening project. The intersection now includes a southbound left-turn lane and stoplights in an effort to ease traffic congestion during the school year. "It's wonderful to see this completed," Grant said. Several local officials expressed their thanks for the cooperation between the different governmental bodies. In an attempt to speed up the construction process, which was initially scheduled to be done in 2011 when funding was available, the city of Warrenton, the Warren County R-III School District and the Missouri Department of Transportation signed a cost-share agreement Sept. 24, 2007. The city and MoDOT each paid approximately $300,000. The school district agreed to pay the loan interest. "This is what can happen if we get together and work in the same direction," Warrenton Mayor Greg Costello said. The intersection saw a significant increase in traffic once Warrior Ridge Elementary opened in 2007. Warrior Avenue also serves as the primary road for the high school. R-III Superintendent Dr. John Long said concerns about the intersection's safety were raised by high school students Dan Tappmeyer and Bobby Ritchie, who both graduated in 2005 and served on the Student Council at the time. It was a priority of the students to see improvements made. "They were instrumental in this," Long said. State Rep. Mike Sutherland thanked the students for their interest in spearheading the project. "It's nice to see a project completed that started because of the vision of young people in our community," he said. "I think the community will be much better off because it's a much safer spot." The project was completed more than two months ahead of schedule. The contract was awarded last November to Brentwood-based N.B. West Contracting Company and work began in February. MoDOT officials wanted construction to be completed in August. Thanks to mild weather and quick work by construction crews, the project nearly was finished by the time the current school year wrapped up. "There are way more transportation needs out there that any of us can tackle alone, but by us working together, we can slowly work on those needs," said Paula Gough, MoDOT Northeast District engineer. Friday's ceremony included a symbolic "flipping of the switch" to permanently turn on the traffic signals and a mini-parade consisting of a MoDOT truck, school bus and police car driving through a banner held across the intersection.