Remodeling of Route K is complete

It's a lot easier to get into Westfield Shoppingtown West Park, and Route K is not nearly so congested leaving the stores and businesses on Siemers Drive.

Work that began just after Labor Day to widen Route K is now finished. Stan Johnson, area engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said that Route K now has two left turn lanes going into Mount Auburn Road from both directions. A continuous right turn lane from the Interstate 55 northbound off-ramp to Mount Auburn and overhead signs to provide advance notice of lane designations along William Street for I-55 south and Siemers Drive were also included in the project.

MoDOT also installed traffic signals at Farrar Drive. The signals run on sensors that communicate to traffic lights that a vehicle has stopped and is waiting.

"We also want to remind motorists to stop behind the white stop line so that the sensor can activate the traffic signals and keep traffic flowing," Johnson said.

A fiber optic signal coordinating the lights from Siemers Drive to Silver Springs Road was another part of the project.

Construction crews moved their equipment and took down barricades only a few days ago, so it's too soon to evaluate how well traffic flows, Johnson said.

"It takes people a little bit to get used to it and figure out what lanes they need to be in," he said. "So far it seems to be OK. We have not noticed any problems."

The cost of the project was bid at $1,081,275. Johnson said the actual cost of the project did not deviate much from that figure.

The stretch of Route K between the interstate and Saint Francis Drive permits better traffic flow into Mount Auburn Road and Farrar Drive, but future growth may be difficult, Johnson said. If commercial growth continues along the route, it may be necessary for the city to look at other routes as a means of accommodating more traffic.

"If we do much widening, we would have to look at buying real estate," Johnson said. "That would get pretty expensive out in there."

For now, the extra lanes are expected to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Johnson said MoDOT will be monitoring the road and tweaking the timing of the traffic flow as it is needed.

"Final striping, signing and reflectors to better distinguish the center line for motorists will be installed as weather permits," he said.

That work will be done at night and should not have a significant impact on traffic.

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160