I-44 and Range Line interchange construction to begin next week - KOAM TV 7

I-44 and Range Line interchange construction to begin next week

Construction will begin next week on a new interchange at Range Line and Interstate 44 in Joplin.

The interchange has long been a cloverleaf design but it's being replaced by a diverging-diamond interchange.

During construction all lanes of traffic on I-44 and Range Line will remain open during daytime hours.

However, one lane will be closed in one or both directions on I-44 at various times at night from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The lanes on I-44 will be narrowed and shifted, with the speed limit reduced to 60 miles per hour in the work zone.

MODOT has created an animated illustration of how the new diverging diamond interchange will look.

The department  says the new design will make driving safer and easier.

"We have shown that there has been a 60% decrease in the number of accidents in the new DDI, and those accidents that did occur were just minor fender benders," says MODOT's Joplin resident engineer Greg Chapman.  "So there is some really good data there supporting the DDI's and why you are seeing those being implemented in other locations in Southwest Missouri."

The $8 million construction project is to be complete by the end of next year.