MoDOT outlines multi-million dollar improvement project at busy Highway 63 interchange

State transportation officials are proposing an $8 to $9-million upgrade at Columbia’s busy Highway 63 and Grindstone interchange.

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) wants to expand traffic capacity on the interchange’s east side, past the Courtyard by Marriott hotel. They also want to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists, and will remove the commuter parking lot on the interchange’s southeast corner.

MoDOT estimates the project will require the acquisition of about nine acres.

The current interchange is poorly lit and has numerous potholes around it. The painted lines are almost impossible to see at night.

MoDOT will hold a public hearing on the project on June 9 from 4:30 to 6:30 pm at New Haven elementary school. It will be an open house style meeting.