Interchange would serve airport area

MoDOT unveils highway plan.

By Jodie Jackson Jr., Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A new interchange at Route H and Highway 63 near Columbia Regional Airport would account for about half of a $20 million-plus project being designed by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

The preliminary proposal, which also calls for a south outer road extending from the new interchange to just north of the KOMU-TV station facility, is contingent on funding from a jobs bill being advanced through the U.S. Senate. The bill would release additional economic stimulus funds for projects that can be quickly bid.

“This project is in very good position to be one of those projects,” Boone County Southern District Commissioner Karen Miller said after this morning’s commission work session with MoDOT officials. “I think it would be a huge asset for all of us.”

Miller and Northern District Commissioner Skip Elkin, who serves as the county’s liaison to the Airport Advisory Board, have consistently listed Route H interchange improvements as a priority to improve safety and access to the airport. The airport is off Route H just east of Highway 63 between Columbia and Ashland.

Roger Schwartze, MoDOT District 5 engineer, said the project would address both safety and access to the airport, although it will eliminate some current access points onto the southbound lanes of Highway 63.

“Before we went any further with this, we wanted to come and meet with you all,” Schwartze told commissioners, suggesting there will be “public concerns about access” if stimulus funding allows the project to go forward. He asked commissioners for their help in garnering public support.

Schwartze said public comments would be sought at an open house event when financing is secured for the project. He said the project would fit the parameters of the bill now under consideration because there would be no right-of-way issues. Surveyors have already been on site preparing for a new bridge over Turkey Creek.

The new design would provide turnaround points to improve safety by removing access points that now require drivers to cross high-volume lanes of traffic to enter the highway.

“If funding becomes available, we want to be ready,” MoDOT project manager Nicole Hood said. She said the proposed Route H/Highway 63 interchange would feature an overpass that connects the east and west sides of Highway 63 with elevated roundabouts.

Miller said she supported the idea of outer roads and the safety improvements.

Almost all of the affected roadway would be outside the Columbia city limits. Schwartze said MoDOT staff also is planning to outline the proposal for city officials.

Reach Jodie Jackson Jr. at 573-815-1713 or e-mail jjackson@columbiatribune.com.

This article was published on page A1 of the Tuesday, February 23, 2010 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune. Click here to Subscribe.