MoDOT reminds motorists about road construction

While green may be the color most often associated with spring, 'tis also the season of orange diamond-shaped signs and orange safety cones.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is warning motorists that 2006 will be a time of lots of construction projects across the state, with a recent press release warning that the upcoming months will be "the biggest ever" in number and scope of highway improvement projects tackled.

April 3 to April 9 is designated as National Work Zone Awareness Week, but this year MoDOT said highway projects have begun a few weeks earlier than typical, with some under way since early March.

Among the projects that will have the biggest impact on local residents are the resurfacing of 2.3 miles of Business U.S. Highway 65 (Odell Avenue) in Marshall from the junction of Highway 65 and Business Highway 65 on the southern edge of the city to the area near the intersection of Odell and Mitchell. As part of the Odell Avenue project, MoDOT will also be working on the alignment of Odell and Morrow Street as well as installing curbing, gutters and storm sewers along much of Odell.

The Odell Avenue project is slated to be finished during the winter of 2006-07.

Two of the 17 projects along Interstate 70 are also in Saline County. Resurfacing work will be done on 14.5 miles of both the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-70 from the Blackwater River to the Saline-Lafayette county line and new emergency reference markers and new delineators are being installed along 24 miles of the interstate in the county to increase visibility. Both I-70 projects are slated for completion in December.

"We're doing everything we can to let motorists know ahead of time where construction zones will be and how they can get through them safely with minimum frustration or how they can avoid them entirely," said Don Hollis, MoDOT director of system management.

While fatalities and injuries resulting from crashes in highway work zones were down dramatically in 2005 -- 15 fatalities compared to 28 killed during 2004 and 940 injuries compared to 1,167 the previous year -- MoDOT also said safety can be dramatically improved if motorists will keep in mind "three S's."

Those "three S's" begin with speed, as in slowing down when approaching a work zone, obeying posted speed limits and not resuming normal speed until signs indicate it is safe to do so.

The second "S" is space. MoDOT says motorists should leave adequate braking space between themselves and vehicles in front of them. The "two-second" rule is a good rule of thumb, counting off two seconds from the time the vehicle ahead passes a landmark until your vehicle does the same.

Other ways to allow sufficient space include not passing on the shoulder and watching out for tailgaters.

Stress is the third "S," with motorists urged to calm down and not rush through work zones. Other tips to reduce stress include avoiding distractions such as cell phones and radio adjustments and expecting delays.

MoDOT is maintaining an online construction map at its Web site, www.modot.org, telling motorists where workers will be and where delays are expected. The site also sometimes suggests alternate routes.

Contact Mark Lile at

marshallbusiness@socket.net