Traffic shift on Highway 54 in Jefferson City wont cause delays for first responders, Cole County EMS chief says
Olivia Hayes
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Phase two of Highway 54 improvements are underway, as part of The Missouri Department of Transportation’s Bridge Bundle for Jefferson City.
The traffic shift was moved to Wednesday after storms rolled through the area on Tuesday. The Bridge Bundle aims to address driving surface issues on bridges in Jefferson City, including deck repairs and overlays.
“This this one project here has eight bridges associated with it. Two being at Stadium, two being at Linden Avenue that are overpasses on the road, one being the Madison overpass. Those are all under construction currently,” Chris Brownell Resident Engineer of the Jefferson City project office for MoDOT’s Central District said.
Four ramps will be closed for road work on the stretch of highway near Linden Drive and Stadium Boulevard. Those include:
The eastbound off-ramp to Madison Street;
The westbound off-ramp to Stadium Boulevard;
The Madison Street on-ramp westbound;
The Christy Drive on-ramp eastbound.
Crews will narrow down that portion of the highway to one lane in both directions.
Brownell tells ABC 17 News the new layout may look a bit different to drivers.
“We can put the head to head traffic in the westbound side at Linden, that just got that bridge just completed. So, we want to switch traffic over there,” Brownell said. “They’re on the outside lanes. That’s going to switch to go to the interior lane so they can have the other half of the bridge to work on.”
MoDOT says the road work will help extend the life of many Jefferson City overpasses. However, the resulting ramp closures and roadways being narrowed could impact both regular drivers and public safety agencies from taking their normal routes.
Cole County EMS Chief Eric Hoy told ABC 17 News one of the ramp closures is a crucial route for EMS crews. However, Hoy said they have worked hard with MoDOT to find a plan that minimizes any impact to their services.
“They’re going to close the Madison Street exit, which is a main artery to Capital Region Medical Center,” Hoy said. “We’ve had conversations with them and the one exit right up the road, which is only about a block away, will remain open throughout the process. So, we don’t believe there will be any delay in service.”
Hoy added that even though the closures can be inconvenient, the work needs done and it keeps everyone safer in the long run.
“We’d rather, you know, have planned construction where we can do this in an organized manner, than have some catastrophic failure of a bridge or something like that, which we’ve seen across the country,” Hoy said.
The Bridge Bundle is expected to be complete by October 2025.