Drivers in Ozark, Mo., concerned regarding traffic patterns of widening project construction on U.S. 65

OZARK, Mo. (KY3) – MoDOT is widening U.S. 65 in Ozark. And the changes to an on-ramp have some drivers concerned.

MoDOT cut down the acceleration lane for the on-ramp from Jackson Street onto southbound 65, forcing drivers to yield at the end of the on-ramp to merge onto the highway. The temporary changes have left some locals concerned.

“They just have you turn and shoot you right out onto the highway. And I was like, that sounds terrible. And then, a few days later, we saw a terrible wreck. The cars looked like they had been in the demolition derby. They were up on a flatbed truck. They were hauling away two of them. The backup was clear into Springfield, so we tried it. My husband was driving, and it really does shoot you out into two lanes of highway-speed traffic. There’s a concrete barrier on one side, so if you find yourself on the highway with cars coming at you, there’s nowhere to go,” said Belinda Bowler, an Ozark local.

MoDOT says it is aware of the changes and has done what it can to ensure that drivers, both merging and on the highway, and the traffic pattern.

“They don’t have that free movement with that new additional lanes and the bridge widening. It just tightens it up and eliminates that acceleration lane that we have. We’ve had message board up saying hey, yield to oncoming traffic, we’re trying to get traffic slow down as well. There is a congestion point right there, but we just want people, you know, to pay attention, look before you merge. You just don’t have that free movement like you did before, but hopefully, we’ll get that opened by as soon as we can,” said Brad Gripka, resident engineer for MoDOT.

Gripka said they’re making good progress on the project. They’ve completed phase one, which includes widening the bridge over the Finley River between Route 14 and Route F. Still, there’s a long way to go before the project is complete.

“On to our next phase, which that was, we’re expected it to take another six months. So, in midsummer, we’ll have that next bridge completed and then continue with the phasing. We’ll start building the new outside lanes that will connect into the bridge and allow that free movement from Route 14 to Route F in both directions,” said Gripka.

Gripka says this project is crucial to help with congestion often seen in Ozark on the highway.

“This is to help with traffic and capacity, and everybody knows that congestion is how every morning you’re going north and coming south in the evenings with that traffic capacity. A lot of your commuters are coming here to Route 14 Route F, and we’re just expanding that from CC to south. We’re giving that traffic capacity opening and up, giving those third lanes and to help with that. So we don’t have traffic backups for a long period during those commuter times,” said Gripka.

Still, he encourages drivers to be extra cautious while they’re going through the Ozark construction zones.

“We just ask people to pay attention, slow down, phones down, especially with the new law coming out so hands-off. We ask people to pay attention, slow down, and buckle up. Safety is always our number one priority, keeping everybody safe and going home safely,” said Gripka.

Still, many locals, like Bowler, want to see the on-ramp changed sooner rather than later to protect drivers.

“I would say that that on-ramp needs to be shut down completely. It has already damaged enough lives and automobiles. Car wrecks can cause people to be hurt for the rest of their lives,” said Bowler.

MoDOT says it plans to restore that on-ramp to normal by the end of summer this year. However, the total project will likely not be completed until early November.

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