“Best case scenario, we’ll have it open by Thanksgiving; realistically it’ll probably be by the end of the year.”

A much-used but long-closed Northwest Missouri highway is getting some much-needed attention. MoDOT announced Wednesday that repairs were underway on US-136, which has been closed for several months. Floodwaters washed away four large gaps in the road, and Wednesday contractors began a three-week, round-the-clock effort to fill those gaps.   We spoke with MoDOT District Engineer Don Wichern, who took reporters on a tour of the flood damage and the repairs.

[audio:http://www.stjosephpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/DONW-long-form.mp3|titles=DONW long form]