New four-lane highway open in Clark County

Wednesday, December 8, 2004 MoDOT opened the new four-lane highway, known as Route 27 and a section of the Avenue of the Saints, in Clark County.
In Missouri, seven miles of new highway were built between the Route 136 spur and the Iowa state line. The project included two new bridges over the Des Moines River which was funded by both MoDOT and Iowa DOT. The bridges connect with a two-lane highway in Iowa to the Donnellson four-lane bypass, then returns to two-lane highway to Mount Pleasant. The highway from the Mount Pleasant bypass to the Minnesota border is four lane. According to Larry Jackson, Iowa DOT District Engineer, about this time next year, the rest of the Iowa Avenue of the Saints will be four lane. Missouri has 14.5 miles remaining to become four lane on the Avenue between Canton and the Route 136 spur, and all is slated to be complete by 2010.
The new highway cost approximately $25 million, including the bridges over the Des Moines River. Emery Sapp and Sons, Inc. was the contractor who built the bridge, while Freesen, Inc. performed the grading and interchange bridge work. Fred Carlson, Inc. is the general contractor who did the paving and oversaw the striping and sign installation.
More than 300 people attended a dedication ceremony held Friday, December 3 in anticipation of the highway opening.