Highway FF Overpass Considered High Priority Transportation Need

The Meramec Regional Planning Commission’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) members voted Dec. 12 to set its priorities for the upcoming year and converting the Highway FF overpass into an interchange is a “high priority.”

Crawford County commissioners voted in October to make converting the overpass one of its top three priorities.

It has been nearly 10 years since the county first began discussing the project, which was estimated at $20 million.

Preston Kramer, an engineer with the Missouri Department of Transportation and the county’s liaison, said in 2019 he felt it would be a worthwhile project, but would involve local, county, state and federal stakeholders working together.

The county’s other two top transportation projects — replacing a bridge over Dry Creek on Highway HH and installing a left turn lane at Lindburg Road also made the high priority list.

However, all three projects are at the bottom.

TAC chose expanding Highways 63 and 50 to four lanes as its top regional priorities.

Highway 63 would be four lanes from Highway 50 in Osage County to the Phelps/Texas county lines.

Highway 50 would be four lanes from about one mile west of Linn to the Gasconade/Franklin county lines.

Read more on this story in the Jan. 20 issue of the Independent News.