MoDOT makes safety improvements along Highway 50

Some traffic changes took effect Thursday night, designed to improve safety at an intersection along Highway 50 just east of Jefferson City.

MoDOT crews shut down the intersection of Shamrock and Liberty roads, just off of Highway 50, for one month to make the improvements.

ABC 17 News reported that there were nearly 50 crashes at that location on the highway over the past decade.

MoDOT engineer Reid Riley said the intersection’s former design with the high volume of traffic caused a lot of safety issues.

“Before we started work, the traffic was allowed to cross over the median, basically go across from one side of Shamrock or Liberty to the other side of Highway 50,” Riley said. “And now traffic is restricted from doing that.”

The new improvements will also give drivers more time to speed up or slow down when turning on and off the highway with new acceleration and deceleration lanes.

But drivers will not see an end to the work along Highway 50 just yet.

A few miles to the east, MoDOT will close the Taos Exit overpass bridge Friday morning.

ABC 17 News has reported the bridge has its own set of safety issues, earning a “poor” rating on the list of Missouri bridges.

“That bridge has deteriorated,” Riley said. “It’s serviced its lifespan, so it was due to be replaced.”

The biggest impact along Highway 50 with the project will happen this weekend. Crews will tear down the old bridge so highway traffic will be reduced to one lane and moved to bypass the bridge. Drivers may run into delays.

Construction of the new replacement bridge is set to be finished by mid-August.