UPGRADE: BUSY INTERSECTION GETS SIGNIFICANT ALTERATIONS

The busy intersection of Route K and Mt. Auburn Road is just one of the areas assigned for improvement by the state this year and in 1993.

When work is completed late this summer at the intersection, motorists will find it easier to make right turns off those two traffic arteries, said Bob Wilson, resident engineer for the Missouri Highway and Transportation District Ten's Jackson office.

Traffic will also be able to pass through the intersection with greater ease, he added.

"We're making this (Route K and Mt. Auburn) into a first class intersection like the one at Route K and South Kingshighway," said Wilson. "The project includes construction of traffic islands and a wider right turn turning radius for semi-trucks and other large vehicles."

Wilson said the contractor, Penzel Construction Co. of Jackson, started working about ten days ago. Weather permitting, the intersection project should be completed by early September.

Wilson said the new right turn lanes on Route K and Mt. Auburn will allow through traffic to pass through the intersection faster since they will not have to wait for traffic to clear the right-hand through lane. Left turn lanes are already located at the intersection.

While the work is under way, Wilson said the highway department will also install permanent traffic signals above the intersection.

"Right now, the signal heads are mounted on cables strung across the intersection. The cables will be replaced by poles and masts. The signal heads will be mounted on the masts that extend out over the traffic lanes, like those at intersections along Kingshighway," he explained. "All of this work should be completed later this summer."

A project that was completed last week was re-striping of Route K, from Silver Springs Road east to Broadview, to allow for the installation of a center left or right turn lane.

Freeman McCullah, District 10 highway engineer at Sikeston, said this project will pay off this winter during the Christmas shopping season.

"If you remember, in past years around Christmas, we had traffic backed up over the hill in the west-bound through lane on Route K, waiting to make a left turn off of Route K onto Silver Springs Road," said McCullah. "With the center turn lane we've created, motorists can make that left turn without fear of someone ramming into them from behind in a through traffic lane."

McCullah said in order to create the center turn lane, the highway department had to narrow each lane by about one foot, which means motorists must exercise more care and caution and remain within the speed limit while driving along that stretch of Route K, especially at night.

"Right now, all five lanes are just under 11 feet wide. Normally, we make them 12 feet wide. This is a temporary solution to a serious traffic hazard up there on the hill. Later on, when Route K is resurfaced, the lanes will be widened to the normal 12-foot width," McCullah said. "But that will be several years away, because the pavement there is in pretty good condition."

McCullah said most of the old lane striping has been removed, but he said it will take a while for the rest of it to wear off. "I want to caution motorists to watch for the new lane stripping, especially at night," he added.

McCullah said another major project on Route K is the widening of that road to five lanes, from Interstate 55 west to a point near the last entrance to the new Wal-Mart Supercenter.

"This is a privately financed project that will be done under state permission and supervision by Wal-Mart and the Drury interests," he explained. "The plan for the work has been approved by our Sikeston office. It will include widening of Route K from the Route K-I-55 overpass west to a point just past the last entrance to the Wal-Mart parking lot. The center lane will be allow left turn traffic onto the Wal-Mart parking lot. In addition, traffic signals will be put up at the intersection of Route K and the western-most entrance to Wal-Mart."

Because it's financed privately, McCullah said the exact starting time of the work depends on Wal-Mart and the Drury interests. "We're hoping that it will be within the next several months," he added.

McCullah said when the widening work starts near Wal-Mart, the state will also begin installation of traffic signals at Route K and Siemers Drive, which runs north and south between Route K and Bloomfield Road, east of Wal-Mart.

With the addition of traffic signals at the two intersections, McCullah said it will make it easier and safer for traffic to get into and out of the Wal-Mart parking lot.

"We've also widened the northbound I-55 off-ramp to two lanes up to the Route K intersection," McCullah added. "We are considering installing traffic signals at this intersection, but no decision has been made. We're also looking at widening the southbound off ramp to two lanes, and possibly, widening the Route K overpass from four to five lanes. However, all of this is still under study, and no decisions have been made."

McCullah said another recently completed traffic control project was not highly visible, but will help move traffic along the entire length of North Kingshighway.

"We have now synchronized the traffic signals from the Highway 74 and South Kingshighway intersection northward to the North Kingshighway and Cape Rock intersection to allow north and southbound through traffic on Kingshighway to move a little faster during normal traffic periods," he said. "The only exception is Friday afternoon rush traffic and Saturday traffic. There is no way around that problem, right now. And the signal synchronization will not affect motorists who turn off Kingshighway along the way."

McCullah said motorists who use the Kingshighway intersections will notice the left turn traffic lane now gets the green arrow first, followed by the through traffic. It was the other way around.

"We have also changed the timing for each traffic movement to allow more vehicles to pass through on green," he said. "We've tried to do as much as we can to keep the traffic moving without creating problems on the side streets, such as Broadway, Independence and William. But remember, at these busy intersections, if somebody has the green light, it means somebody else has to wait."