New JeffTran routes on tap Monday

FILE: A JeffTran bus waits for passengers to board at a bus stop at 820 E. Miller St.
FILE: A JeffTran bus waits for passengers to board at a bus stop at 820 E. Miller St.

After more than a year of waiting, JeffTran riders will have new routes to look forward to beginning next week.

The JeffTran fixed route reconfigurations will go into effect Monday, about a month earlier than originally anticipated. Transit Division Director Mark Mehmert previously told the News Tribune he did not expect the route changes would go into effect until January.

"We gave ourselves a little bit of room because we didn't know how long it would take to get everything printed out and changed over but everything went smoothly," Mehmert said.

The bus drivers will be conducting training this weekend to adjust to the new routes, he said.

"We're excited about this," he said. "This will be our first major recongfiguration."

Mehmert added JeffTran does "not anticipate any cuts in services - we're just shifting."

The Missouri Boulevard route - or orange route - will have portions of St. Mary's Boulevard and will not include two stops between Kansas and Delaware streets. The two stops were reassigned to the Southwest - or blue - fixed route.

The Southwest route will contain stops at multi-family units near Rolling Hills Road and Capital City High School, as well as stops at St. Mary's Hospital and The Salvation Army Thrift Store. The route portion on West Stadium Boulevard, between Edgewood and West Edgewood drives, was eliminated.

The Southwest route that previously served St. Mary's Boulevard was reassigned to the Missouri Boulevard route, and Southwest Boulevard to Stadium Boulevard was reassigned to the High Street East route - or green route.

The High Street East route will include services along sections of El Dorado Drive, Southwest Boulevard and Christy Drive, which includes stops at Community Health Center of Central Missouri and Capital Region Center for Mental Health. The route also removed stops on East Elm Street and Bald Hill Road as well as two stops on Stadium Boulevard.

Portions of Eastland Drive that were previously serviced by High Street East have been reassigned to the Business 50 East route - or red route.

The only change to the Business 50 East route is it removed the St. Louis Road on-call route.

The High Street West route - or yellow route - will include stops at Pathways Community Behavioral, Memorial Park Aquatics Center, the Jefferson City Department of Corrections and Continental Commercial Products. It also removed two stops along West Main Street and one stop on Jaycee Drive.

The Capital Mall route - or black route - will service Old Lohman Road, Leandra Lane and areas closer to Westview Heights. The stop at St. Mary's Hospital was reassigned to the Southwest route.

The Jefferson City Council approved the route changes in October after contractor Lochmueller Group suggested changing the JeffTran routes more than a year ago following a transportation system analysis.