Vice President Kawasaki Plant Manager Steve Bratt, Maryville City Manager Greg McDanel, Nodaway County Economic Development Director Josh McKim and White Cloud Engineering President Brock Pfost survey the area as construction begins on the new on-ramp to Highway 71.
Kawasaki is fully funding a new, public on-ramp to Highway 71.
The planning stage began a year and a half ago as city and plant staff considered solutions to traffic problems around the plant. Approximately 30 percent of the plant’s truck traffic and 20 percent of its 1,050 employees go south when leaving the facility. Administration wanted to alleviate traffic and increase function and flow of the space by re-routing southbound vehicles.
Kawasaki donated $2.1 million to the Nodaway County Economic Development (NCED) department for the on-ramp. In turn, NCED is using the money to pay the contractors and engineers.
The project will pave 285th street toward the west to the end of Kawasaki’s property.
“We were thinking about the future development of Maryville, so we asked the state if we could put a slip ramp in,” Vice President Kawasaki Plant Manger Steve Bratt said.
Bratt said the on-ramp sets the stage for the city and county to possibly pave Icon and 285th Street to Highway 71 for an additional bypass around the city.
The project will include a half mile of paved road, 25,000 cubic yards of dirt work and $150,000 in utility relocations. The ramp is estimated to be complete by June 2017.
NCED bought the two acres south of Kawasaki from the Byland Trust, working with Trustee John Byland and using dirt from surrounding land.
S&K Engineers, Kansas City, designed the ramp according MoDOT specifications, gaining the appropriate permits required to begin construction.
White Cloud Engineering and Construction, Maryville, is the general contractor, providing utility and water line relocation and engineering and project administration. NCED Director Josh McKim said almost every contractor and subcontractor is local.
The city of Maryville will be responsible for maintenance of the on-ramp. Maryville City Council will vote during its Monday, December 12 meeting to accept a maintenance agreement for the on-ramp and to transfer ownership of South Main Street from the South Hills intersection to the bypass on Highway 71.
“This is our way to give back to the community,” Bratt said.
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