Farmers take initiative to fix risky intersection on state Highway 127

This photograph, provided by farmer Russ Flair, was taken by from the old entrance of County Road 424. It shows the short sight line for cars and trucks leaving the road and traveling south onto state Highway 127. After landowners Jana Franklin Battson and Jamie Franklin Nichols donated an acre of land, area farmers came together on Tuesday, March 31, and did the necessary work to move the road about a quarter mile up the hill. The new entrance is on the crest of the hill, giving a longer site line to travelers.
(Contributed photo)

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In January, the group started cutting through red tape and paperwork, and on Tuesday, March 31, nine farmers armed with four tractors, a bulldozer, a trackhoe, a rubber-tired hoe and various dirt-moving implements worked together to peel back the bank, extend the road and fill in the old road entrance of County Road 424.

They changed the entrance by extending the gravel road to run along the highway for about a quarter of a mile, so traffic will enter and exit the highway at the crest of a hill, as opposed to the middle of the hill.

Malta Bend farmer Oliver Marshall talks to landowner Jana Franklin Battson, who along with her sister, Jamie Franklin Nichols, donated an acre of land so farmers could move the end of County Road 424 about a quarter mile up a hill. Previously, the road came out onto Highway 127 in the middle of a hill, which meant semi-trucks turning onto the highway had to be on the wrong side of the road for approximately 200 yards until the trailer cleared the narrow culvert. Several area farmers reported "near misses" at the site.
(Marcia Gorrell/Democrat-News)

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"They turn out with their trailer trucks and have to be in the wrong lane for a while," said Harriman.

A bridge too small to take grain loads on the other end of the gravel road meant that, during harvest, they had to turn onto state Highway 127 to get to their bins or area elevators. Most of the farmers use semi trucks with long trailers, which are so long they had to pull into the other lane to make it past the culvert.

A large bank on either side of the gravel road, along with a hill, meant that it was very difficult to see oncoming traffic.

"Jack Harriman talked to me and I thought it sounded like a good idea," said Oliver Marshall of Marshall and Fenner Farms, who has a farm on the gravel road.

(Contributed photo)

A few years ago, a car "popped up over that hill and I was headed straight at her," he said.

Since that time, Marshall would often wait on a hill away from the gravel road exit and watch traffic before taking a loaded truck to his family's grain bins, south of the intersection.

"At night you could see the headlights," said Marshall, whose house is just southeast of road. "There have been times when I sat up here and called home if I knew Kathy (his wife) was home and asked her to look up the road."

The intersection was hazardous enough that the Malta Bend School bus wouldn't make a left turn onto or out of the road.

Although Harriman said he had thought the project would be "simple to do," the dirt work turned out to be the easy work.

They first contacted Northern Commissioner Norvelle "Brownie" Brown, who, they said, helped them a lot with the project.

They also measured a similar road on U.S. Highway

65, between Marshall

and Malta Bend and

determined they would need about six-tenths of an acre.

From there, they went to landowners Jamie Franklin Nichols and Jana Franklin Battson and asked them to give land to extend the road.

"Jack met them the next Saturday and they said not a problem," said Marshall.

Battson, who was at the site on Wednesday, April 1, said after looking at the problem, she and her sister thought, "Heck, yes, it would be worth it. It was a bad deal for semis coming out of here." They ended up donating an acre of land for the project.

After an initial meeting with Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) engineers, the project stalled briefly.

"It got around to MoDOT and they wanted the road to start angling way down to the bridge. So that was out. We weren't going to ask them (Nichols and Battson) for 25 acres," said Marshall.

However, Harriman called Missouri Senator Bill Stouffer, who is chairman of the Senate transportation committee.

"They came to me and I went to MoDOT," said Stouffer, who said he pointed out the farmer's idea may not be the "perfect design" but it was a whole lot safer than not doing anything at all.

"These guys had done their homework and MoDOT agreed," explained Stouffer.

MoDOT engineers then drew out a plan that was .92 acres.

Harriman's daughter, local attorney Jill Lilleman, volunteered her time to do the legal documents and paperwork.

"Jill did a bunch of work on this. I'll bet she spent two solid days on it," said Harriman.

They also got permission from the Malta Bend Special Road district, which maintains the gravel road.

"We told them we didn't have the money to do it, and had other priorities," explained Dale Malan, a member of the road commission, adding, however, it was a bad intersection.

"We had very little to do with it," he said, adding the farmers did the necessary "footwork," and the road district agreed to do the grading and apply the gravel to the extension.

Much of the dirt work was done last Tuesday, and the road district hauled two loads of gravel Wednesday on the new road base. However, rain that night and over the weekend kept them from putting on anymore. They are waiting until the new road "settles out," to finish putting on the gravel, and opening it to traffic, said Marshall on Monday, April 6.

The farmers working on the project and bringing equipment were Harriman, Marshall, Tom Fenner, Todd Marshall, Glendall Dowell, Shannon Dowell, Brad Hemme and Bryan Hemme. Robert Diehl also loaned a "dirt scoop."

Russell Flair helped Marshall flag out the road and helped direct traffic while the equipment was working near the highway. Dohrman Farms, who farm down the road, but were unable to help that day, also agreed to donate money to the project.

"Saline County has one safer intersection today then it did yesterday because of old-time farmer values. Farmers have the idea that if something needs fixed, then lets do it," wrote Flair, who sent an e-mail and pictures to The Marshall Democrat-News. "This story has a connection to the past when farmers would help each other. If one had a problem they would all pitch in and work till the job was done."

Contact Marcia Gorrell at marshallag@socket.net