Lead Stories and Pictures

MoDOT nixes plan to install barrier from Route H to Highway 90

by Rick Peck
rpeck@nwaonline.net

A highway plan that made almost no one happy is being replaced by one that makes only those living on Wolf Den Road and Sugar Valley Circle mad.

The Missouri Department of Transportation recently announced that a plan to install a median barrier along the entire section of Highway 71 from Route H to Highway 90 has been scrapped in favor of leaving openings at Brush Creek Road and north of Sugar Valley Circle, similar to the way the highway is currently barricaded.

The temporary barrier will be removed and a permanent median barrier will be installed, but with the revised plan, the barrier openings at Brush Creek Road and north of Sugar Valley Circle will remain in place.

In February, MoDOT officials publicized a series of proposed changes to Highway 71. Area residents attended a March meeting and provided comment on the plan.

“Most everyone attending the meeting or calling our office were not happy with the idea of extending the barrier,” said Becky Baltz, district engineer for MoDOT’s Southwest District. “We promised we would listen to residents’ concerns and they made some very valid points regarding length of travel and emergency response times.”

But some of those living along Sugar Valley Circle and Wolf Den Road are not happy with the revised plan.

George Nelson, a resident of Sugar Valley Circle, said MoDOT has not done justice to the residents who live on the west side of Highway 71.

“I see it as still dangerous,” said Nelson. “We will still have to make u-turns on a major highway. MoDOT could have solved the whole problem with some warning signs and left Wolf Den open. To this day, there still is no warning signs.”

MoDOT closed Wolf Den Road to right turns only after a series of accidents spurred local law enforcement officials to threaten to form a human chain to close the road.

Nelson said if MoDOT would have installed the warning signs, like those in place at Club Hots and the Juke Box, and slowed down the speeds, they could have left Wolf Den open.

“I think they over-engineered the problem,” said Nelson. “It was too dangerous for a stoplight, but now its too dangerous without a stoplight. The way it is will have a really negative effect on the town, but I guess it’s better than dissecting the county and completely cutting us off. It’s a worse problem than we originally had. I find that disappointing.”

Baltz said the possibility of installing a stoplight at the intersection is not going to happen.

“Safety is our main concern,” said Baltz. “We can’t approve a traffic light on a high-speed road that is coming off a curve and doesn’t have good sight distance. The right in/right-out entrance is the best method of ensuring the safety of the Business Highway 71/Wolf Den intersection.”

Creating right-in/right out only access to the Business Highway 71 and Wolf Den intersection and replacing the temporary median barrier with a permanent barrier are just two of the items on MoDOT’s revised plan.

Other items included in the new plan are installation of rumble strips to alert drivers to the intersection, install drains to help with water runoff north of Brush creek on Highway 71, install two streetlights at the turnaround north of Sugar Valley Circle and update speed study to determine if speed limit reduction is needed.

Lois Lewis, who lives on Wolf Den Road, said she would get in trouble if it was printed what she really thought about the new plan.

“There is no farm there anymore,” said Lewis of her residence. “”We can’t get cattle trucks in or out safely. I can’t figure out why a stoplight is so dangerous. But you can make a u-turn with all the high-speed traffic. The only solution to the problem is by controlling the traffic flow. I still don’t understand why a traffic signal can’t be installed to control traffic. I’ve yet to get an answer.”

Lewis said her family tried to help MoDOT as much as possible when the road was being built, but now MoDOT will not help them.

Lewis said a hill that was built from fill of highway construction has led to the flooding of her home.

“We have had to build dikes to try and divert the water,” said Lewis. “They built a mountain and now all the water is coming to my house. I haven’t made it an issue before. It’s just so frustrating. All we tried to do was help the highway department.”

One of those who voiced his concerns about closing the barrier at Brush Creek Road, Troy Henson, was glad MoDOT revised their plan, but could understand what those living on Wolf Den and Sugar Valley Circle were going through.

“I feel sorry for the other folks on Wolf Den,” said Henson. “It hurts to think what they have gone e through. But we haven’t had any trouble on Brush Creek.”

The revised plan needs approval from the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission. Construction could begin in late summer or early fall.