Boone County News Release
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Michele Hall, Boone County Commission Administrative Coordinator
Phone: (573) 886-4312
Email: mhall@boonecountymo.org
Miller speaks at airport interchange groundbreaking
August 8, 2011
Karen M. Miller, Boone County District I Commissioner, speaks with Kurt Schaefer, Missouri State Senator for District 19, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the airport interchange
Karen M. Miller, Boone County District I Commissioner, and Skip Elkin, Boone County District II Commissioner, attended the groundbreaking ceremony today to launch the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) project to build an interchange at U.S. Highway 63 and Route H, near the Columbia Regional Airport. Miller was one of the dignitaries who addressed the crowd gathered to mark the occasion.
“This project is so important, not just for public safety,” Miller said, “but for the economic development of our community.” She also praised MoDOT and the various agencies and offices that worked together in order to make the project a reality. Miller's words were echoed by other speakers at the event, including Kurt Schaefer, Missouri State Senator for District 19, Chris Kelly, Missouri State Representative for District 24 and Mary Wynne Still, Missouri State Representative for District 25.
Other speakers included John Glascock, Director of Public Works for the City of Columbia, Don Laird, President of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, Grace M. Nichols, Chair of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission and Dave Nichols, Chief Engineer with MoDOT.
The $10 million project includes the construction of a diamond interchange at U.S. Highway 63 and Route H near the airport. New southbound lanes for U.S. Highway 63 will also be built from just north of Route 163 to Route H. The existing southbound lanes will become an outer road, allowing the removal of several crossovers.
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