Strother Interchange approved

[KCgridlock]

This is going to be one of the hottest areas of the metro in a few years.


Posted on Sat, Jun. 14, 2003

Lee's Summit officials bank on Strother Road interchange
By RUSS PULLEY
The Kansas City Star

A long quest to build a diamond interchange at Strother Road and Interstate 470 is moving forward, and Lee's Summit officials hope it will lead to an economic boom.

The Federal Highway Administration has OK'd the city's desire to build the interchange, Mayor Karen Messerli recently said, as long as the design meets federal guidelines.

The city was warned to not ask for any exceptions, Messerli said.

She and other officials have lobbied about five years for permission to build the interchange.

The exit could make many acres along the highway between Woods Chapel and Colbern roads more attractive to businesses because access would be more convenient.

It would be the biggest economic push for Lee's Summit since the old AT&T plant was redeveloped to become the Summit Technology Campus, predicted Jim Devine, president of the Lee's Summit Economic Development Council.

It's as valuable as getting the SummitWoods Crossing shopping center, he said.

"It's big news," Devine said. "It will probably be totally under-appreciated until 20 years later as Lee's Summit is built out."

The interchange also could lead to connections between Strother Road, Lee's Summit Road and I-470 that would encourage Kansas City and the Mid-America Regional Council to finance improvements for Lee's Summit Road.

Many Lee's Summit residents would like to see the two-lane road upgraded because they frequently use it as a route to Independence or Interstate 470 at Douglas Street.

Hurdles remain. Money is one.

A strict interpretation of federal rules might make design for the interchange tricky and expensive.

Public Works Director Chuck Owsley said he hasn't yet examined the regulations to determine if any problems exist that could derail the project.

The city does have a financing plan that would raise $24.8 million for the project, through tax districts on future development.

However, with increasing traffic expected to lead to other improvements on I-470 and uncertainty about the design and construction costs -- the city might need additional financing.

Linda Clark, assistant district engineer for planning and project development for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said the project will go forward, but it could be five years before it's done. She said the department has $3 million in federal money earmarked for the project, and the rest would come from tax districts set up the city.

Before construction can begin, the city needs to get an environmental clearance and then a design, Clark said.

"The city will pay a consulting firm to design the project, and we will have administrative oversight," she said. "When the design is done and right-of-way acquisition is done, construction begins."

Clark said that because the transportation department would be responsible for maintaining the interchange, it probably would handle the construction.

To reach Russ Pulley, Lee's Summit reporter for The Star, call (816) 234-7811 or send e-mail to rpulley@kcstar.com

Staff writer Mara Rose Williams contributed to this article.

[dangerboy]

Woo hoo! More leapfrog sprawl and congestion. This area shouldn't be developing yet. We still have lots of vacant land immediately west of there, between Raytown and Lee's Summit.