Anyone who’s been through the Interstate 55 interchange in Scott City has probably noticed it’s a tangled mess with ramps, Highway 61, Main Street, a railroad and a nearby school. The Missouri Department of Transportation is taking a step to relieve the congestion at the location.
At a public hearing on Thursday, MODOT officials outlined a plan to install a new interchange about two-and-a-half miles south of the current Scott City exit that would connect to Kelso, according to MODOT project manager Eric Krapf.
“This will help that existing intersection in Scott City by allowing Route 61 traffic more direct access to I-55 without having to travel through Kelso up over a railroad overpass,” Krapf said, “and then gets dumped basically right into the middle of an existing interchange between the northbound and southbound ramps at signalized intersections.”
Krapf expects the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission to approve the plan in July. MODOT is still in the process of getting environmental clearance, and needs to conduct archaeological surveys. If all goes as planned, the $15 million project could start with right of way acquisition in 2016 and construction in 2017.
