Tanner Bridge Road improvements proposed

The first of several proposed safety improvements on Tanner Bridge Road, including road widening and improving sight lines, will be discussed next week at a public meeting.

The Cole County Public Works Department will discuss proposed improvements at Tanner Bridge at Tara Lane during a meeting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at KIM School, 1032 KIM School Circle. The event will be an open house format where people can ask questions and see plans for the project. Those unable to come to the meeting can get a copy of the plan from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the public works office, 5055 Monticello Road.

“The proposed project will involve intersection realignment to eliminate the sight distance issues with the current intersection as well as geometric improvements on Tanner Bridge,” Cole County Engineer Eric Landwehr said.

In May 2017, the Cole County Commission approved a $64,795 contract with Central Missouri Professional Services for engineering work on safety improvements on Tanner Bridge.

“We’ve been working to identify safety-sensitive areas on Tanner Bridge since the passage of the half-cent sales tax extension in 2016,” Landwehr said. “Tanner Bridge has seen significant traffic growth in the past 10 years or so. There are several sharp vertical and horizontal curves, and there have been accidents in many areas along the road.

“Over 2,000 vehicles drive on Tanner Bridge in this area which is a high amount for that type of road. With all that residential growth, that leads to more potential for accidents.”

The project scope was from Route B to Grand Highland Subdivision. Tanner Bridge at Tara was one of five areas identified to make safety improvements, the other four were:

• Just south of the Route B intersection.

• A low-lying area near Vida Lane that floods due to backwater from the Moreau River. A possible solution would be raising the grade of the road.

• The S curve near the Grand Island Subdivision.

• An area just past the Grand Island Subdivision.

“Things like fixing sharp curves, clearing trees and right of way for sight distance, as well as road widening, are all things we’ll be looking at doing,” Landwehr said.

He said Tara is a private road, but it gets a lot of traffic because of the KIM School located in the area.

“The Tanner Bridge/Tara intersection is on the downside of a crest in the road, and sight distance is almost zero,” Landwehr said. “This project will realign the intersection to a location that is safer for sight distance.”

If they get the right of way addressed, he said, the county hopes to bid the project so work would start after school is out and finish before the next school year begins. The estimated cost is $200,000 with the funds coming from the safety improvements portion of the county capital improvements half-cent sales tax.