Outdated Detour Drives Traffic Through WP Neighborhood

A West Plains resident addressed the City Council last week on heavy traffic issues. The council also discussed three resolutions and three bills during the meeting on Sept. 23.

 

“I'm still having horrible traffic,” said Staci Hudson, who lives on Utah Avenue. “I'm having semis in the middle of the night, all day long. I'm hoping maybe you guys can do something to help us shut this down.”

 

In March 2022, a detour was put in place to reroute traffic from Kentucky Avenue, to Utah, and to Sixth Street during Ozarks Healthcare construction. The detour was to last 60 days but, according to the United States Coast Guard, who is in charge of civilian GPS, the detour is still in place.

 

“When I called the trucking companies that are coming through, they're saying that nobody has updated the GPS system,” Hudson told the council. She told Howell County News she had contacted SGC Foodservice, a Springfield food service whose trucks take Utah Ave. while in town. She told the council that she had counted 115 vehicles go by her home traveling from Porter Wagoner to Broadway between 4 pm and 5 pm, later telling the News she estimates over a thousand vehicles travel by her home daily. Hudson said she had been trying to get this changed since March 2023. Councilman Johnny Murrell asked the council if they could look at Mapquest or Google Maps and notify them. City Administrator Sam Anselm said they would contact their GIS person. 

 

In other action, the council passed three resolutions, Resolution 2024-24, 25, and 26. Resolution 2024-24 allows the city administrator to enter an agreement with Great River Engineering for services for the Garner Villas Sidewalk Project. This project is for a sidewalk and lighting along Bruce Smith Parkway from Mitchell Road to County Road 6460. Resolution 2024-25 allows the mayor or city administrator to execute a pole attachment agreement between the city and Current, Inc. The company is planning on attaching fiber optic cable to these poles. The final resolution, 2024-26, allows the city to apply for an Economic Development Administration grant for up to $634,000. This is a 70/30 grant for renovating a Washington Avenue building in preparation for the 120 jobs the grant will be helping to support. The building is the future home of Provalus, an IT company with locations in Alabama, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Oklahoma.

 

Bills 4774 and 4776 had their second readings and became city ordinances. Ordinance 4774 vacates excess right of way to two pieces of property along Mitchell Road and the city retains a 15-foot utility easement for existing utilities. Ordinance 4776 is an agreement between the city and Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for the sidewalk along Bruce Smith Parkway from Mitchell Road to County Road 6460.

 

Bill 4777 had its first reading before the council. This bill would allow the city to enter into an agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation for participation in the Highway Safety Program. This is the BUPD – Buckle Up, Phones Down program. This marks a good time to remind Missourians that law enforcement will begin to hand out citations beginning January 1, 2025 for drivers using a cell phone or similar device while driving. The second reading was set for Sept. 30.