The city of Warrenton is looking to make some aesthetic improvements to the town’s main entryway.
Aldermen this month approved hiring engineering firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) to …
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The city of Warrenton is looking to make some aesthetic improvements to the town’s main entryway.
Aldermen this month approved hiring engineering firm Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT) to design landscaping upgrades for the Interstate 70-Highway 47 interchange. The city has agreed to pay just under $24,000 for the design work.
“This year we have budgeted to get the design and engineering work needed, and perhaps a small start on the project,” City Administrator Terri Thorn told the board of aldermen Dec. 17.
The spots being looked at are the northeast and southwest “infields,” the hills of grass between the interstate traffic lanes and the exit ramps. The northeast and southwest fields are the ones that face oncoming traffic in both directions.
Landscaping at the Highway 47 exit ramps currently consists of simple “City of Warrenton” directional signs and rows of flowering bushes. Officials are hoping to make that area look more like the city’s new interchange a mile to the west.
“The designers will be the same designers that designed all of the landscaping at the new interchange,” Thorn said. “We’re hoping to do a smaller version, similar to what’s out there.”
But, as Alderman Gary Auch pointed out, there isn’t much space to get fancy at the old interchange. Part of the engineering and design phase will be figuring out what can fit.
Thorn said she hopes flag poles will be among the upgrades, but much will depend on approval from state regulators.
Both Highway 47 and I-70 are owned by the Missouri Department of Transportation, meaning the process will require MoDOT approval along the way.
Lighting and irrigation will also be under consideration, some of which Thorn said will be planned internally.
According to the city’s service agreement with CMT, engineers will start with a topographic and aerial drone survey of the interchange layout. CMT will then develop one or two possible landscape schematics with cost estimates.
After feedback from city officials and MoDOT, a final plan and cost estimate will be developed.
