Route 13 Four-Laning Continues
Between Humansville and Collins
MoDOT, District 8, Springfield --
Road construction equipment will be moved in this week as a highway
contractor mobilizes for work to widen Route 13 in the Humansville
area, the Missouri Department of Transportation said.
Two new lanes will be built along
the west side of Route 13 in the 9.2-mile long stretch of highway.
The existing roadway, which will become the northbound lanes,
will be resurfaced.
The project runs between a point
south of Route 123 (at East 350th Road) where the existing four-lane
roadway ends and about 1.5 miles south of Collins.
A new intersection will be built
near Humansville. Business 13/Route N will go underneath Route
13, making it easier and safer for turning vehicles and through
traffic. Acceleration and deceleration lanes will be built on
Route 13 at the intersection.
The project includes construction
of five new bridges, including three bridges for the new southbound
lanes of Route 13, one on northbound Route 13 and one on Route
N just west of Route 13.
The prime contractor is Journagan
Construction of Springfield for a low-bid price of $21.3 million.
Scheduled completion date is in the
spring of 2007.
Two-way traffic will be maintained
on Route 13 throughout the 2-1/2-year long construction period,
although lane shifts and speed-limit reductions will be needed
at times.
In the early stages of the project,
a new Hendricks Street will be built to carry traffic between
Buchanan Avenue and Business 13. Hendricks Street will tie in
to Business 13 about 500 feet east of where Buchanan hits the
business route.
While much of the work will take
place AWAY from traffic, Route 13 drivers could experience slowdowns
at times. Drivers should watch for construction equipment crossing
and working close to the road.
Alerts will be flashed on electronic
message boards and directions and warnings will appear on the
many orange signs that will be posted where work is being done.
A 10-mile long section
of new southbound lanes of Route 13 south of Route 123 was opened
to traffic in August.
After the project near Humansville
is completed, the final section of Route 13 to be four-laned will
be between 1.5 miles south of Collins and 2.5 miles north of Collins.
That work is scheduled to begin in 2007.
Once the Collins project
is completed, probably in late 2009 or early 2010, a four-lane
highway will connect Springfield and Kansas City. The widening
to four lanes began in the mid-1980s on Route 7 between Harrisonville
and Clinton. The four-laning effort has continued on Route 13
from Clinton working south and from Bolivar working north.
(For more information,
call MoDOT in Springfield at 417-895-7600 or toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT.)
