Highway 63 Ribbon Cutting to Take Place for Four-Lane Highway

For many, what used to be a dream is now reality. Ceremonies to celebrate the four-laning of 22 miles of Highway 63 between Macon and Kirksville will take place at 2 p.m., Oct. 18, at the Northeast Regional Health and Fitness Center.

The Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce, Highway 63 Transportation Corporation and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) are working with the cities of Macon, Atlanta, LaPlata and Kirksville to organize the festivities. Celebrations at each location will include entertainment, brief comments by invited guests, refreshments, and cutting a ceremonial ribbon.

Festivities will commence at 11 a.m. in Macon, noon in Atlanta, 1 p.m. in LaPlata, and 2 p.m. in Kirksville, where Truman’s True Men will be performing the national anthem. The format is designed to celebrate all communities along the new highway.

The project is nearing completion and the additional lanes are expected to open to traffic within the next few weeks.

Plans to four-lane U.S. Highway 63 between Kirksville and Macon date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1992, the U.S. Highway 63 corridor was identified for expansion to a four-lane highway. However, in 1998, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission came to the conclusion that MoDOT did not have sufficient funding to complete the project as planned.

When the project’s deferral was announced, the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce organized a community task force to consider the communities options. The ultimate goal of the task force was to work in partnership with MoDOT to solve the problem. With support from the City of Kirksville and MoDOT’s District 2 office in Macon, plans were put in place to form the Highway 63 Transportation Corporation. The Corporation, chaired by Truman alumnus David Clithero, included representatives from Adair, Macon and Schuyler counties and the cities of Kirksville, Macon, LaPlata and Atlanta.

After developing a strategy to move the project forward, the Corporation members accepted a proposal submitted by Koch Performance Roads Inc., of Wichita, Kan. This proposal offered design and construction management services that greatly condensed the time frame of the project to save time and money. The proposal also included a pledge that the Corporation would seek a one-half cent sales tax from the citizens of Kirksville to provide up to 30 percent of the project’s total cost.

The Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission unanimously endorsed the proposal to accelerate the expansion of Highway 63, after which the City of Kirksville had to seek voter approval. On April 2, 2002, an overwhelming 78 percent of Kirksville voters gave their approval of the one-half cent sales tax increase. This sales tax will generate $11.5 million during a 10-year period.

Another Truman alumna, Elsie Gaber, currently chairs the Highway 63 Transportation Corporation and welcomed citizens to the groundbreaking ceremony that took place on May 2, 2003, and marked the beginning of the construction on Highway 63 between Macon and Kirksville. This ceremony served as a testament to the fact that when a community or group of people come together to solve a problem, great things can happen. More than 600 citizens participated in this groundbreaking activity.

For more information about the ceremonies, contact MoDOT’s D2 Customer Service Center toll-free at 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636).