I-49 Outer Roads Conversion Project breaks ground in Grandview
Tyler Schneider
Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones welcomed U.S. Congressman Emanuel Cleaver to speak in front of a lively crowd of city officials, MoDot representatives, engineers and city residents at the city’s official groundbreaking ceremony for the long awaited I-49 Outer Roads Conversion Project, August 17.
The project, designed by Trekk Design Group, will convert the I-49 outer roads from the current one-way system back to the pre-1980 two-way traffic system between 150 Hwy and Harry S. Truman Drive.
“Congressman Cleaver was just a young individual back in the late 1970s when this was a two-way metropolitan area. We’re happy to have him here with us today,” Jones said before passing the mic.
“I feel very good that MoDot made a quick decision that helped create the opportunity for all the development that is going to take place here. This is a great project, and when it’s completed, it’s going to transform everything in the area. You’re going to see more and more businesses come out here. I predict Grandview is going to end up becoming the fastest growing town in the state of Missouri,” Cleaver said.
The $15 million project was the result of a collaboration between MoDot and Grandview, with $12 million of the funding coming from federal and state grants and the remaining $3 million sourced from municipal funds generated from the transportation sales tax.
“The design-build team has committed to the mayor to have the west Frontage Rd done by the end of the year, and they’ll work on the east Frontage Rd next year. So by the end of 2022, we’ll have this project completed,” Grandview City Engineer Doug Wesselschmidt said.
The effort is the first example in Missouri of an outer-roads reconversion project and the first by MoDot to be federally funded, according to Valarie Poindexter, Grandview’s city communications director. The final designs were submitted by Trekk Project Manager, Tawn Nugent, and her team, along with Radmacher Brothers Excavating.