Yesterday, a Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) worker suffered minor injuries after a semi-truck crashed into a MoDOT vehicle on Interstate 70.
The crash happened near Concordia. A crew was laying white stripe on the outside lane of the busy interstate when the semi, approaching the work zone, apparently didn't see the workers and crashed into a MoDOT dump truck. Luckily, according to Fox4KC, the sole purpose of the vehicle was to protect the crew under just these circumstances.
The dump truck was equipped with a truck mounted attenuator (TMA), which is essentially a "rolling bodyguard" designed to absorb impact when needed. "It's got a box on the back and sits low to the ground as it absorbs the energy, it protects us from a highway-speed impact," explains Rusty Jones, of KC Scout. Indeed: although the MoDOT vehicle was knocked onto its side and into a ditch, no one was seriously injured.
To safeguard both motorists and road workers from accidents like this one, MoDOT recently released a list of its ongoing and upcoming work zones.
MoDOT Work Zones to Watch Out For:
Central District
• US Route 54 Intersection Improvements, Jefferson City (Cole County): Crews are currently upgrading several intersections to include new lighting, offset turn lanes, and various other lane modifications. The projects are between Route CC and Hickory Hill/Clark Fork Road, and motorists in the area can expect to encounter lane closures and traffic backup during peak travel times. MoDOT expects to complete these improvements sometime this fall.
Kansas City District
• Route 169/Broadway Extension "bin wall" replacement (Clay & Jackson Counties): Construction is expected to begin in mid-July and wrap up before the end of 2012. Importantly, the project will prevent southbound access to the Broadway Bridge from the Northland to downtown Kansas City. Motorists will have to use the Heart of America Bridge (Route 9) or the Christopher S. Bond Bridge (I-29/35) to cross the river while construction is underway.
• Route 150 at Botts/Thunderbird (Jackson County): This project is currently underway, and is not expected to take more than two weeks. Motorists can expect the highway to be reduced to one lane in each direction to allow for interchange construction.
• Route 71 bridge at Routes C and J, Peculiar (Cass County): Major reconstruction will completely close the bridge that connects eastern and western Peculiar. MoDOT expects to finish this project prior to the beginning of the school year.
• Interstate 29 between Route O and the Platte County line (Buchanan County): MoDOT is resurfacing 8.4 miles of the interstate, which may result in significant delays.
Southeast District
• Interstate 55 (Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties): This extensive project involves resurfacing and installing median cables along several stretches of the interstate, which will necessitate lane closures.
Southwest District
• U.S. Route 71 to Interstate 49 (Vernon and Cass Counties): Motorists can expect to see sign and guardrail installation along with interchange and overpass construction, which will be ongoing through December 2012.
• Route 60/65 interchange, Springfield (Greene County): In addition to paving and reconstructing two ramps, MoDOT expects to finish construction of the final two bridges in the months ahead. Completion is scheduled for October.
• Route 65, between Lincoln and Warsaw (Benton County): The four-laning project is expected to wrap up in August.
For more details and a complete list of MoDOT's significant projects, click here. You can also provide feedback by rating MoDOT's work zones via their website.