By Adam Rollins, Record Staff Writer
The city of Warrenton has taken big steps to finalize plans for a new Interstate 70 interchange.The city and Missouri Department of Transportation hosted an open house Jan. 4 at the Warrenton High School Common Area to display plans for road construction and answer questions from the public.The open house followed a Jan. 3 meeting at which the city’s board of aldermen voted to approve an agreement between the city and the Missouri Department of Transportation for financing and constructing the interchange.Plans for the interchange construction are expected to be finalized in May and advertised for bid in the fall. Construction is planned to begin late 2017, with the affected roads opening fall 2018.Jonesburg resident Larry Schulze, who frequents the Warrenton area, was at the open house and said he thinks the new construction is a good idea with one issue.“I don’t like roundabouts,” he said, referring to planned roundabout intersections and their difficulty for someone driving a truck with a long bed.“I would rather see them bring the overpass out, let the service road go under it and let the ramps come back.”The interchange construction is a driving force in plans to redevelop the defunct Warrenton outlet mall, which at one time was a thriving shopping center.Schulze said he remembers when people from St. Louis would come to the area, eat at Big Boys in Wright City and shop at the Warrenton outlet mall.“That was their weekend. That was their Lake of the Ozarks place,” he said. “All the sudden, it just dropped.”Informational material about the road construction is available on the city of Warrenton’s website, www.warrenton-mo.org.Construction plansThe interchange project will involve construction or modification of three roads. Four entrance and exit ramps will connect I-70 to a newly built overpass 2 miles west of Highway 47. The overpass will connect the North Outer Road to Veterans Memorial Parkway.The parkway will be reconstructed to swing away from the interstate, making room for the new ramps. Route MM will be straightened to improve traffic flow to and from Veterans Memorial Parkway.The Warrenton Board of Aldermen voted unanimously, with Alderman John Miller absent, to approve an agreement dividing responsibility for the construction and maintenance of the roads between the city and MoDOT.Under the agreement, the city is responsible for the entire $15.4 million cost of the project, paid for with two half-cent sales taxes approved by voters in 2016.Warrenton Director of Operations Terri Thorn said some parts of the cost have gone down, but other elements have become more expensive.“There was some additional expense added because of how deep the rock was out there and how bad the soil condition is,” Thorn said. “We thought we were going to come out less than $15.4 (million) at one point, but now that we’ve added those things back in, we’re going to be right at that $15.4 million.”Once plans are finalized, MoDOT will be responsible choosing a contractor and overseeing construction work. MoDOT will maintain the new overpass and connection to the North Outer Road once they are complete.In exchange, the city has agreed to assume control of Route MM and Veterans Memorial Parkway between the new overpass and Highway 47. Those roads currently are managed by MoDOT.New roundaboutsThree roundabouts planned for the interchange project could present a learning curve for area drivers. The roundabouts will be placed where one might expect traffic signal intersections: at the north and south sides of the overpass, as well as the intersection of Veterans Memorial Parkway and Route MM.The roundabout south of the overpass is planned to be a five-way intersection between the parkway, the westbound I-70 entrance and exit ramps, and the overpass bridge.“Roundabouts are proven to be safer,” said project engineer Brian Eads with engineering firm CMT. “They have fewer accidents, and the accidents that do occur are less severe . . . We’ve done traffic modeling that shows this will accommodate the traffic that’s anticipated.”Eads said roundabouts are becoming more common because of their safety advantages and because they eliminate the cost of traffic signals, which roundabouts do not use.According to MoDOT, eliminating traffic signals saves about $5,000 per year in maintenance and electricity.Jonesburg residents Jeri Schulze, left, and Larry Schulze study proposed plans for a new interchange 2 miles west of Interstate 70. The plans were on display at a public open house Jan. 4 at the Warrenton High School Common Area. Record photo/ Adam Rollins.
