Anyone traveling along Kingshighway near the construction of the new McDonalds restaurant and Bryant Drive Extension can quickly see by the number of orange cones, slowed traffic and abundance of bulldozers that the new Bryant Drive extension will transform this new intersection.
The size and scope of the Bryant Drive Extension project is probably one of the most significant construction and development projects the City of Rolla has seen in recent years in terms of how much it will change the look, feel and image of this area on Kingshighway. The Ridgeview Road Extension at State Route 63 and Hwy. 72, where the new Walgreen store is located, has transformed that area of the city as well, but did not involve the relocation of a traffic light or quite the magnitude of construction activity we are seeing at the Bryant Drive Extension. While the City realizes the construction activity is impacting traffic flow and causing time delays along Kingshighway, we ask the public to please be patient, drive with caution, and realize the work at this intersection will greatly benefit this area of town. In the coming weeks and months, we will not only have a new intersection at Bryant Drive and Kingshighway with a new traffic signal installed by the Missouri Department of Transportation, but an alternative route to access Fairgrounds Road and eventually 10th Street.
The new Bryant Drive Extension, which will serve as one of the gateway entrances to the Missouri S&T Innovation Park, runs north and then northwest as it bends to the west and terminates on Fairgrounds Road near the Mark Twain National Park Headquarters. The current traffic light at Kingshighway and Fairgrounds Road will be removed by MoDOT this fall as part of the entire redevelopment of the new Bryant Drive Extension intersection. Future plans for Kingshighway involve the addition of two lanes of traffic (creating five lanes) from Fairgrounds Road, across the I-44 overpass and the other side of the overpass.
Also included in the agreement with MoDOT, but slated for 2012, will be improving the Kingshighway Interchange with Interstate 44. These improvements will consist of the installation of two roundabouts, which will greatly improve the capacity and safety of these heavily traveled intersections. The current traffic signals at the Martin Springs Drive intersection will be removed and replaced with a roundabout, and the second roundabout will be located on the north side of the Kingshighway/I-44 overpass. Plans also include the eventual stripping by MoDOT of the I-44 overpass at Kingshighway so there will be two east-bound lanes and two west-bound lanes. The estimated cost of these improvements is $1,760,051. The improvements are part of the Statewide Transportation Improvement Plan, which will be funded by MoDOT.
In addition to these improvements, the City of Rolla will be responsible (as MoDOT relinquishes ownership to the City for Kingshighway) for widening Kingshighway from three to five lanes from the Martin Springs Drive/Kingshighway interchange (adjacent to HJ Drive) to the new intersection of Bryant Drive. This will be done during the same time frame in 2012 as the interchange improvements and is estimated to cost $250,000.
In closing I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to attend one of the three public forums that were hosted on Oct. 13, 20 and 26 by the City, Parks and Recreation Department and The Centre to allow input and suggestions regarding the future of our Parks and The Centre. The feedback and comments we are receiving are greatly appreciated. If you did not have the opportunity to attend any of the forums, you are encouraged to provide input by either filling out one of the comment cards available at The Centre or on the City’s Website (http://www.rollacity.org/events.shtm#forums). Additional documents relating to the open house information, parks sales tax history and general fund financial data is also available on the City’s Website.
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