PHELPS COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) -Drivers who commute along Interstate 44 in Phelps County say a stretch of road construction just outside of Rolla is becoming increasingly dangerous.
The stretch of roadway between St. James and Rolla has been under construction as MODOT repaves both the westbound and eastbound lanes. Work on the westbound lanes is largely complete, while crews wait for warmer weather to finish work on the eastbound lanes.
“Nerve wracking, that’s about the only way to describe it, it’s nerve wracking,” said Vincent Synder, a truck driver who frequents I-44 weekly. “As soon as you get out of it, it’s like, ‘ahhh!’”
Within the construction zone, the two eastbound lanes split, with one lane of eastbound traffic shifted to the westbound lanes, separated from oncoming traffic by temporary cones. The other eastbound lane borders temporary concrete barriers, separating drivers from the unfinished outer lane.
“I’d rather deal with the construction barriers because at least if I hit a construction barrier then I don’t kill anybody,” said Synder. “The bad part is these things really are 40,000 pounds of death.”
Synder said the narrow lanes don’t allow much room for error. Add in frequent speeding drivers and those cutting in front of him and he said the drive can be scary.
“A little movement in the steering wheel, not even a quarter of a turn and I could be in the ditch,” he said.
Commuters tell First Alert 4 earlier this week there were as many as 12 semi-trucks crashed and abandoned in the grassy median, which has become muddy with recent rainfall. A couple of the trucks remained Friday afternoon. It is unclear if Monday’s ice storm is the cause of the trucks leaving the roadway and becoming stranded in the median.
“I ain’t even gonna drive this stretch, I’m going to go around it,” said driver Beryl Paffrath. “You have, I don’t know how else to say it, idiots, that want to go faster than the speed limit and try to pass you, some might end up underneath your truck and that’s the scary part.”
MODOT crews could be seen patching a large pothole in the westbound lanes Friday afternoon. Many people took to local Facebook pages claiming they received a flat tire Thursday night because of the pothole.
The resurfacing project, which aims to replace pavement that is more than 50 years old, should be complete by fall, according to a MODOT spokesperson. Until then, periodic lane closures will continue to take place to allow crews to work as the weather warms.
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