The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission has awarded a contract for what highway officials believe is an innovative pavement treatment that will help keep motorists safer on U.S. 54 in Jefferson City.
The pavement treatment, called High Friction Surface Treatment, will be applied to a section of eastbound and westbound 54 at Madison Street.
The contract was awarded to Truesdell Corporation Midwest of Jefferson City, which submitted the low bid of $84,333.
The experimental pavement application provides more traction for vehicles in adverse travel conditions, such as rain, ice or snow.
It's used in areas that have horizontal curves and approaches to curves.
A portion of the funding for the pavement application comes from a Highways for LIFE grant from the Federal Highway Administration.
The grants are designed to fund innovative highway and bridge projects that improve safety, create jobs and enhance the quality of the nation's transportation infrastructure.
Missouri is one of 13 states to receive such grant funding.
In Kentucky and South Carolina, there was a 69 percent reduction in crashes where this treatment was applied.
The pavement treatment project is scheduled to begin by Wednesday and be completed by mid-October.