ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The following is a listing of general highway maintenance and construction work the Missouri Department of Transportation has planned in the Northwest Missouri region for the week of April 8 – 14.

Continued flooding may cause schedule changes in some of the planned work. There may also be moving operations throughout the region such as pothole patching, striping, signal work, etc., in addition to the work mentioned below:

Andrew County

Route O – CLOSED at the Platte River Bridge for a bridge replacement project. The bridge will be closed until the end of September, weather permitting.

Interstate 29 – Bridge maintenance at the Nodaway River Bridge, April 8 – 11

Business Route 71 – Resurfacing project from Main Street in Savannah to just south of Interstate 29, April 8 – 12. The contractor will begin at the northern end of the project and work south in approximately two-mile sections. One lane, each direction will remain open at all times. This project will continue, Monday through Friday, through mid-May. A 14-foot width restriction will be in place around the lane closures.

Atchison County

Route MM – CLOSED for a culvert replacement just south of Route 46, April 8 – 9, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

U.S. Route 59 – Pothole patching, April 8 – 12

U.S. Route 136 – Pothole patching, April 8 – 12

Route B – CLOSED for pothole patching from I-29 to U.S. Route 275, April 8 – 12

Buchanan County

U.S. Route 36 – Joint repair between Route C/Z and Route 31 south, April 8 – 12. One lane each direction of U.S. Route 36 will remain open throughout the work. A 14-foot width restriction is in place.

Route 752 – Joint repair over I-229, April 8 – 12. One lane at a time will be closed throughout the work. A 17-foot width restriction is in place.

Route 371 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Barnett Road to Seymour Road, April 9, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

U.S. Route 59 – Pothole patching from Route 752 to U.S. Route 45, April 10 – 12

Caldwell County

Route Z – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from SW Texas Road to SW Ore Road, April 11 – 12, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Carroll County

U.S. Route 65 – Bridge maintenance at the Missouri River Overflow Bridge, April 8 – 12

Chariton County

U.S. Route 24 – Bridge maintenance at the Long Creek Bridge and Chariton River Bridge near Keytesville. The bridges will be narrowed to one lane with a 15-foot width restriction through May 31.

Route 129 – Culvert repair from Little Creek Road to Hickory Road, April 8 – 12

Clinton County

Route O – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Shewey Road to SW Smith-Halferty Road, April 8, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

U.S. Route 69 – CLOSED for bridge rehabilitation at the I-35 overpass, April 8 – 12. For information, click here.

DeKalb County

U.S. Route 169 – CLOSED at the Third Fork Platte River Bridge for a bridge replacement project. The contractor plans to have work completed by July, weather permitting. Motorists should follow detour signs along Routes 48 and M to navigate around the closure. For more information visit the project’s web page.

Gentry County

U.S. Route 136 – Pothole patching from the city limits of Stanberry to U.S. Route 169, April 8 – 12

U.S. Route 136 – Pothole patching from Route C to Route F, April 4 – 5

Grundy County

Route C – Bridge inspection at the Weldon Fork Creek, April 1 – 5

Harrison County

U.S. Route 136 – Pothole patching, April 1

I-35 – Pothole patching from U.S. Route 136 to Route C, April 8 – 12. A 14-foot width restriction is in place.

Holt County

Route A – Pothole patching from U.S. Route 71 (Nodaway County) to Route 113, April 1

Route A – Bridge maintenance at the Nodaway River Bridge, April 8 – 11

Linn County

Route 139 – CLOSED for a culvert replacement from Argo Road to Artic Road, April 8, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

U.S. Route 36 – Pothole patching from the Macon County line to Route 139, April 8 – 10

U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair from Route 129 to Route 5, April 8 – 10

U.S. Route 36 – Pavement repair from Route 5 to Route F, April 11 – 12

Mercer County

U.S. Route 136 – Pothole patching, April 8 – 12

Nodaway County

U.S. Route 136 – Bridge maintenance at the Mozingo Creek Bridge, April 8 and 10. This includes a 10-foot width restriction. A temporary traffic signal will be in place to direct motorists through the work zone.

Route B – CLOSED for pavement repair from U.S. Route 71 to Route AD, April 9, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Route B – CLOSED for pavement repair and drainage work from Route AD to Galaxy Road, April 10, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Route B – CLOSED for pavement repair and drainage work from 170^th Street to Imperial Road, April 11, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Route NN – CLOSED for bridge maintenance at the Platte River Bridge, April 11 – 12, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Sullivan County

Route 139 – CLOSED at the Newtown Branch Bridge for a bridge replacement project. The contractor plans to have work completed mid-April, weather permitting. For more information, visit modot.org/route-139-newtown-branch-bridge.

Route PP – CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE at the East Medicine Creek Bridge after a regularly scheduled inspection revealed critical deterioration to the structure. The bridge is currently scheduled for replacement in fiscal year 2020. For more information, click here.

Route BB – CLOSED at the Rooks Branch Bridge for a bridge deck replacement project. The contractor plans to have work completed by mid-June.

Worth County

Route YY – CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE at the Middle Fork of the Grand River after a regularly scheduled inspection revealed critical deterioration to the structure. The bridge is currently scheduled for replacement in fiscal year 2021. For more information, click here.

Route 246 – Pothole patching, April 8 – 10

(Missourinet) – Governor Parson has requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency begin preliminary flood damage assessments for seven counties.

The counties include Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, Mississippi, New Madrid, and Ray. Parson says the damage from the historic flooding has devastated some northwest and southeast Missouri communities. And even though the floods haven’t fully receded, the governor says it’s time to begin assessing.

Damages to homes, businesses and infrastructure will be used to seek a federal disaster declaration and federal assistance in those counties. Other counties are expected to be added.

FEMA damage assessments are done before ag disaster declarations are sought through the USDA.

On March 21, Parson declared a state of emergency in response to worsening conditions along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers as a result of excessive rainfall, releases from upstream reservoirs, and snow melt. On March 29, the Governor signed an executive order giving the Department of Natural Resources flexibility in easing regulations in support of flooding response and recovery.

Jefferson City, Mo. – State Representative Sheila Solon (R-St. Joseph) successfully passed HB 821 through the Missouri House of Representatives and moved it to the Senate on Thursday.

According to a news release from Solon’s office, this legislation will allow the city of St. Joseph to create a land bank with the ultimate goal of getting abandoned properties in the hands of responsible owners.

“I was asked to handle this legislation by the city of St. Joseph; it is a top priority for them. I am thankful that I was able to get it passed out of the House and moved to the Senate where Senator Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) has agreed to handle this legislation for me” said Solon.

According to the news release, the city of St. Joseph currently has approximately 450 vacant structures that are considered dangerous and are in violation of the Property Maintenance Code. This legislation will give an incentive for responsible borrowers to invest in these properties and either bring them up to safe standards or possibly tear them down and rebuild.

MARYVILLE, Mo. – Dr. John Jasinski, president of Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, has been named a 2019 Icon of Education in the February edition of Ingram’s business magazine.

In an interview published by the magazine, Jasinski reflected on Northwest’s performance excellence and fiscal stewardship as well as how his memories of growing up in Flint, Michigan, shape his approach.

To read the Ingram’s article, click here.

The magazine noted the honorees “have demonstrated exceptional, lifelong commitment to improving the lives of their students, and by extension, the health” of the Kansas City region for decades to come.

Other honorees in the magazine’s Class of 2019 included Dr. Carl Cleveland III, president at Cleveland University Kansas City; Vicki Schwinke, vice president of academic affairs at State Technical College of Missouri; Kevin Eichner, chancellor at Ottawa University; Frank Einhellig, provost at Missouri State University; Dr. Hal Higdon, chancellor at Ozarks Technical Community College; Dr. Sandy Hutchinson, a professor at the University of Central Missouri; Betty Drees, president of the Graduate School of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research; Dr. Betty Walizer, professor of teacher education at Fort Hays State University; and Carol Strickland, director of the National Teachers Hall of Fame at Emporia State University.

In addition to his service as Northwest’s 10th president, Jasinski recently was elected by his peers to serve as a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Board of Directors. He also was elected to a one-year term as vice chair of the Council on Public Higher Education, which is composed of the presidents and chancellors of public higher education institutions in Missouri. Jasinski serves on the Malcolm Baldrige Performance Excellence Program’s Board of Overseers, the Kansas City Area Development Council and on the advisory team of the commissioner for the Missouri Department of Higher Education. He recently was named chair of the MIAA’s risk management task force.

Jasinski has served as president at Northwest since 2009 and previously was a faculty member at the University.

– Northwest Missouri State University press release –

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, will again convene at Northwest Missouri State University and hear oral arguments in four cases, beginning at 1 p.m., Monday, March 11, in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom.

A three-judge panel consisting of Western District judges Cindy Martin, Thomas Newton and Gary Witt will hear the arguments and remain after the court session to discuss the court system and explain the proceedings.

The program is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Northwest’s Department of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Northwest Pre-Law Society.

The court has convened annually at Northwest since 2010, and the upcoming session will mark the 11th time it has sat for arguments in Maryville. Although the Western District convenes regularly at its courthouse in downtown Kansas City, it consists of 45 counties in central and western Missouri and holds court frequently in other locations within the district.

“It is important for the court to convene oral arguments outside of the courthouse in Kansas City,” Chief Judge Karen Mitchell said. “This gives individuals an opportunity to observe a part of the judicial system they normally do not see. We hope those attending will gain a better understanding of the court’s function.”

The court will hear appeals from previously held trials and other proceedings in area circuit courts. The judges will hear attorneys argue whether errors were made, requiring the cases to be retried or the trial court’s judgment reversed. The judges will read written arguments before the court session and may interrupt the attorneys’ oral arguments with questions.

Martin was appointed to the court in 2009 and previously practiced law for more than 25 years in Kansas City and Lee’s Summit.

Newton was appointed to the Western District in 1999 and was a Jackson County circuit court judge for six years before that. He previously served as assistant Jackson County prosecuting attorney and as an assistant United States attorney.

Witt was appointed to the Western District in 2010. He had served as an associate circuit judge in Platte County and previously practiced law there. He also served in the Missouri House of Representatives.

– Northwest Missouri State University news release –