Roundabout construction at intersection of Keene Street and I-70 Drive Southeast to begin Monday, June 1

Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc., contractor for the City of Columbia, plans to begin construction of a single-lane roundabout at the intersection of Keene Street and I-70 Drive Southeast beginning Monday, June 1, weather permitting. The goal is to complete the project by Fall 2020.

Access to and from Keene Street will be maintained throughout the project with some lane restrictions. However, construction will require closure of the east leg of the intersection, I-70 Drive Southeast. The east side of the closure will remain accessible via the St. Charles Road Exit on Interstate 70. 

Roundabouts are designed to improve safety for all users. Per the AASHTO Highway Safety Manual, roundabouts reduce the types of crashes where people are seriously hurt or killed by 78-82% by reducing the number and severity of conflict points and due to the lower speeds of vehicles moving through the intersection.

An interested parties meeting for the project was held March 15, 2016, and the project was approved by City Council Feb. 5, 2018, after a public hearing. The estimated investment is $832,000, with 50% of the funding from a Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) cost-share program.