Crews prepare roads for severe winter weather
Crews prepare roads for severe winter weather By Noelle Williams | February 14, 2021 at 6:04 PM CST - Updated February 14 at 10:10 PM
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - The current snowfall is making travel dangerous, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) recommends you stay home and away from the roads.
“You need to think hard about going out if you don’t have to,” said Mark Croarkin, an Engineer for the Southeast District for MoDOT.
He said they have spent the past couple of days making sure equipment is working and ready for the frigid weather.
“Some of our crews are already out across the district. Some are on standby. We expect crews out across the district by this evening,” said Croarkin.
By Editor | February 4, 2021
By Mark Evans
mevans@stegenherald.com
Scott Schmieder, Ste. Genevieve County roads and bridge foreman, was proactive in dealing with the two-to-three inches of snow that struck the county the night of Jan. 26 (Tuesday night) and during the day, Jan. 27.
On Tuesday, Schmieder pulled road crews off of other jobs and had them begin salting and preparing county roads for bad weather.
“You made a good decision,” Presiding Commissioner Garry Nelson told him at last Thursday’s County Commission meeting. “You were prepared for the snow.”
Schmieder said the preparation and the plowing that came later, went without major incident.
MISSOURI- Missouri has not seen a rise in fuel tax since 1996, but that could change soon.
The Missouri Senateâs Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee discussed Senate Bill 262 Tuesday morning that could raise the stateâs fuel tax by 10 cents over the next five years. That means a two cent increase each year until it becomes 27 cents by 2026.
The tax revenue will go toward maintaining the stateâs roads and bridges. A 2020 study ranked Missouri as having the 8th worst road infrastructure in the nation. Unsurprisingly, there is a correlation between low spending and poor road infrastructure.
Dave Schatz, President Pro Tem of the Missouri Senate and author of the bill, said this discrepancy is holding Missouri back.
Wed February 03, 2021 - Midwest Edition #3
Cindy Riley â CEG Correspondent
Equipment being used on the job includes D9, D10 and D11 Caterpillar dozers; 745C and 775F Caterpillar haul trucks; a 651E Caterpillar earth mover/scraper; 825C Caterpillar compactors; and 349E Caterpillar excavators.
(MoDOT photo)
Crews are working six days a week on a $70 million project that will complete the final 5 mi. of I-49 in Missouri between Pineville and the Missouri/ Arkansas border. When the
I-49 Connector is completed, I-49 will stretch 290 mi. between Kansas City, Mo., and Fort Smith, Ark. This is the last leg of Interstate 49 to be completed in Missouri, said Steve Campbell, southwest district engineer, Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT). Its completion will remove a freight and commuter bottleneck that has existed at the Missouri/Arkansas border for several years. It will increase the safety of the corridor and shorten travel times for through traffic. This project