To make sure highway improvements are moving ahead as promised, MoDOT officials have hit the road to inspect the state’s busiest highways.  The tour kicked off Aug. 18 in Columbia and will run through October with highway engineers examining the roadways that are included in the Smooth Roads Initiative.

"We're looking for the same things drivers look for - smoother pavement, brighter stripes, better signs - everything we promised we'd deliver," said MoDOT Director Pete Rahn.  "I call this trip the ‘Seat Of Your Pants' tour, because we'll be judging the quality of these roads the same way drivers do - by how it feels in the seat of your pants."

Here are some of the things the tour will examine:

• Pavement – Completed projects should be free of cracks, ruts and potholes, and feel smooth to drivers.

• Stripes – New pavement stripes should be brighter, wider and easier to see, especially at night and in the rain.  Many are rumble stripes – grooves in the pavement that are painted with stripes, to alert motorists when they’re leaving their driving lane.
• Signs – Thousands of new roadway signs along these routes should be brighter and easier to read.  Included are new roadside markers on the interstates that will improve emergency response by providing the exact location of stranded motorists.
  

For more information on the Smooth Roads Intiative, visit our Smoother, Safer, Sooner web page. You can also download a map of SRI projects.

The Seat of Your Pants Tour news release will also let you learn more about the event.

Photos From the Ongoing Seat of Your Pants Tour
Progress You Can Feel Northeast District Engineer Kirk Juranas inspects a portion of a highway recently improved through SRI.
		Road Trip! This van will log about 2,200 miles by the time the tour ends. It will carry MoDOT top management and any media representatives that want to go along for the ride.
Reporters come along for the ride Director of System Management Don Hillis speaks with a reporter about the tour.