The Missouri Department of Transportation will install four-way stops at both sides of the Stracks Church Road bridge over Interstate 70, the site of a fatal crash in March.MoDOT said it plans to install stop signs for drivers on the North and South Outer Roads starting June 10, due to the number of crashes that have occurred there.Previously, vehicles on Stracks Church Road were required to stop, but drivers traveling along the outer roads were not.“These intersections will be changed to all-way stops simultaneously,” said MoDOT Area Engineer Erik Maninga. “We are hopeful these updates will help reduce the crashes occurring at these intersections.”Local musician and community volunteer John “J.D.” Sinclair of Warrenton was killed in a crash at the South Outer Road intersection March 16. Sinclair and his wife, Tanya, were riding a motorcycle on the South Outer Road when they collided with another vehicle coming from Stracks Church Road. Tanya Sinclair was seriously injured.Maninga said the intersections with Stracks Church Road have been problematic for some time, and that other options for reducing incidents have been exhausted. MoDOT has previously improved warning signage for the intersection, cleared away trees that blocked vision, and partnered with local police for traffic enforcement, Maninga said. But driver behavior continues to be a challenge.“Drivers in that area weren’t paying attention to those signs and were running the stop signs at Stracks Church Road,” he commented. “Really it comes down to people driving through that area paying attention to the stop signs.”Members of the Warren County Commission and local first responder agencies have been asking MoDOT to take the next step to improve safety at those intersections, Maninga said. The fatal crash in March was another push to make the decision.Officials hope stopping traffic in all directions will prevent future accidents. However, that will require drivers to respect the new stop signs and always stop, even if they don’t expect frequent cross traffic.“It’s important that folks who stop at the outer road don’t become complacent and stop paying attention to those stop signs,” Maninga said.

MoDOT will install stop signs on the I-70 North and South Outer Roads at the Stracks Church Road intersection on June 10. The crossing has a history of crashes.

Record photo