Safety work at the U.S. 63 interchange over U.S. 36 in Macon is complete.
The Missouri Department of Transportation marked the finish with a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners lot, 1810 N. Missouri St., in the northeast corner of the interchange.
Featured speakers listed on the MoDOT project page were Kevin James, MoDOT Northeast District engineer; Sgt. Justin Dunn of the Missouri State Highway Patrol; and Mayor James "Talt" Holman of Macon.
Major work included rehabilitating the U.S. 63 bridge, realigning the U.S. 36 off-ramps, adding turn lanes at the ramp terminals, upgrading signals and lighting at U.S. 63 and Business 36, and safety work at the Kellogg Avenue median crossover. MoDOT also reduced island sizes at U.S. 63, Business 36, and W. Briggs Drive to help large trucks turn.
"This project was designed to meet the unique needs of this location, improving traffic mobility and providing reliable interchange capacity for the future," Area Engineer Emily Edgar said.
Work began in early February with bridge rehabilitation. Magruder Paving did the construction. MoDOT lists the cost at about $3 million to $3.5 million. Construction stayed inside existing right of way.
An Aug. 27 MoDOT release said the interchange work was expected to be mostly complete when traffic signals were activated, as early as Aug. 31, with remaining finish work minor and not affecting traffic.
Questions about the project go to Keith Killen, MoDOT project manager, at keith.killen@modot.mo.gov or 660-385-8222, or Edgar at emily.edgar@modot.mo.gov or 573-248-8688. Road questions go to 888-275-6636.