Expansion opens on major Mid-Missouri highway

The expansion of a major Mid-Missouri highway opened to drivers in Osage County Friday.

The $25.5 million project to make Route 50 wider extends 6.6 miles, and took two years to complete. That segment of the highway was relocated and widened from 2 to 4 lanes from the Highway 50/63 junction to County Road 604 west of Linn.

The Maries River bridge was also renovated to include a support structure and new girders.

Officials said added lanes will improve safety for drivers and shorten commute times for those driving from Linn to Jefferson City.

“This is a four lane road, very straight and flat, if offers great sight distance on all of the intersections,” said David Silvester.

Thousands of tons of rock had to be excavated to make way for the roadway.

“We experienced a little more than we thought we would which happens sometimes when we just don’t know when we are guessing how far down the rock ledges are and how far we go. So, in this case we came up with a little more than what we anticipated, but we worked it into the job just fine.”

The project could be the last of it’s kind for awhile. Senator Mike Kehoe said taxpayers approved the project, and it’s a great example of how government is supposed to work.

“This demonstrates that when the department has the resources, the department can work with contractor partners and do some fantastic projects together that really improve citizens’ safety,” said Kehoe.

Kehoe said he hopes they can get voters to approve more projects like this in the future.