Palmyra looks at funding options to connect east and west sides around U.S. 61

PALMYRA, Mo. (WGEM) - Efforts continue to make driving safer in the city of Palmyra, Missouri. On Monday night, the Palmyra Citizens Advisory Group met to discuss funding options to connect the east and west sides of the city around U.S. 61.

Drivers said you will likely get stuck in traffic or maybe even into a car crash if you ever try to get on or off U.S. 61 to Palmyra.

“We have had fatalities unfortunately,” Mayor Rusty Adrian said. “The way it’s set up right now something has to change. We want to eliminate that.”

Some drivers, like Nik Yager, avoid the intersection at Main Cross Street altogether.

“I myself, I avoid those intersections,” Yager said. “I usually come in or go out on the interchanges myself.”

The Palmyra Citizens Advisory Group has been talking about ways to make it safer for drivers. The group is comprised of business owners, engineers, truck drivers, and residents.

Monday night they finalized a construction plan, including making three diamond interchanges, one at Main Cross Street, and one on both the north and south ends of town.

Adrian said the north diamond will include the Charlie Brown Industrial Park and they plan to extend an east outer road.

“We are going to look into getting funding,” Adrian said. “A lot of it is timely and we have time for some of this.”

Grant funding experts attended the meeting to discuss funding options. Adrian said they entered into a Transportation Development District to help them get money for the project.

“We are partnering with Ralls, Hannibal and Palmyra into this district,” Adrian said. “What that district does is it’s a taxing district that all three entities will be working together to help fund our projects on the portion that we have to pay.”

Adrian said the group will spend the next two or three months looking into funding options.

They do not know how much this project will cost yet.

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