Missouri’s 2022 highway safety and traffic conference

MoDOT: I-70 climbing lanes at mid-Missouri’s Mineola Hill benefitting motorists and truckers

September 28, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

MoDOT credits 1.2 miles of truck climbing lanes on I-70 in mid-Missouri’s Montgomery County for increasing safety for motorists and for truckers (2022 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Cole
Duenckel)

Several hundred transportation and law enforcement officers from across Missouri will hear a detailed presentation Wednesday afternoon in Columbia about the engineering involved in a successful massive I-70 project in mid-Missouri’s Montgomery County.

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and its prime contractor, Columbia-based Emery Sapp and Sons, have built 1.2 miles of truck climbing lanes on I-70 at Mineola Hill. The climbing lanes are on two large hills that truckers sometimes have difficulty with. MoDOT says the climbing lanes have boosted safety for both cars and trucks that travel at different speeds along that stretch of I-70.

Barlett and West handled design services for the project, and Barlett and West’s Todd Kempker will deliver a presentation about it Wednesday at the transportation and safety conference.

Safety and license plate readers are topics at Missouri transportation conference in Columbia

September 27, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

The massive I-270 construction project in north St. Louis County’s Hazelwood and Florissant is one of MoDOT’s largest projects in Missouri (September 12, 2022 file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Hundreds of people are expected to be in Columbia for the next three days for Missouri’s 2022 highway safety and traffic conference, which opens Tuesday afternoon at the Holiday Inn Executive Center.

State Department of Transportation (MoDOT) spokesman Cole Duenckel tells 939 the Eagle that 400 to 500 professionals are scheduled to attend. The event begins at 12:30 with the national anthem and opening remarks from Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe (R-Jefferson City). There will also be a panel discussion today on the role of traffic safety in creating stronger communities. Safety continues to be a top priority for MoDOT director Patrick McKenna and will be a focus during the conference.

Another topic that will be addressed is license plate readers. Boone County Sheriff’s Captain Brian Leer will deliver a presentation to the entire conference on Wednesday morning. License plate readers are credited with helping to locate the two suspects in the August murder in a Columbia Moser’s parking lot.

Transportation officials from across Missouri interested in seeing Columbia’s diverging diamond

September 27, 2022 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Governor Mike Parson speaks to state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) employees in southeast Missouri about safety issues on September 12, 2022 (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

Truckers and other motorists who use Columbia’s diverging diamond interchange at I-70 and Stadium will need to slow down this (Tuesday) morning, as transportation and law enforcement officers from across the state walk that area as a pedestrian.

It’s part of Missouri’s 2022 highway safety and traffic conference, which begins today in Columbia. The walk will begin at 9:30, and there will be a law enforcement presence in that area.

In a diverging diamond interchange, traffic on the crossroad moves to the left side of the roadway for a segment between signalized ramp intersections.

The walk goes until 11 am.