Traffic flow has improved during dropoff and pickup times at Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Lawson Elementary School due to new roads behind the schools.
The new roads, which recently opened, were designed to reduce traffic congestion on Fairgrounds Road during dropoff and pickup times, and they are working as expected, said Frank Underwood, the Jefferson City School District's facilities director.
Before the roads opened, the gridlock traffic during dropoff and pickup times on Fairgrounds Road prevented vehicles from passing through that area without a significant delay, including emergency service vehicles.
"By opening up this road for specific purposes, it took that traffic off Fairgrounds and allowed buses to come in and out freely, and keep the road open for citizens that were going to work or passing through," Underwood said.
The primary road, named Patriot Drive after the TJMS mascot, connects Edgewood Drive and Fairgrounds Road. Lion Way comes off Patriot Drive and flows into the Lawson parking lot.
All parents dropping off or picking up students are required to enter and exit via Patriot Drive from Edgewood Drive, and bus traffic is only allowed access to TJMS and Lawson from Fairgrounds Road. With the exception of those accessing the Special Learning Center, public access to the roads is not permitted during the morning dropoff from 7-9 a.m. and afternoon pickup from 2:30-4:30 p.m.
There haven't been any issues with people not using the roads correctly, other than some parents being confused about where to go to drop off their children on the first day of school, Underwood said. He said he doesn't think the new roads will improve the time it takes to pick up or drop off students because the parents are waiting in line regardless.
Pickup and dropoff usually takes longer during the first few weeks of school. The process currently takes about 10 minutes at TJMS, but it should be down to about seven minutes - the time it took after the first few weeks last year - by next week or the week after.
The district received the land for the roads in a land swap agreement with the Jefferson City Fire Department. The city received property located near Mission Drive, next to St. Mary's Hospital on Missouri 179, from the school district, and the school district received the land at the intersection of West Edgewood Drive and Fairgrounds Road to build the roads. The project was $1.5 million.
Construction of the roads began at the end of May and opened just in time for the first day of school, which was Monday.
"We're happy that they're done and were able to be open on the first day," Underwood said. "We're very excited about it."