Nodaway County, Missouri – Missouri DOT is informing Nodaway County residents about an upcoming opportunity to look over and talk about planned upgrades at the intersection of U.S. Route 71 and 340th Street. This area is likely to see more traffic in the next several years.
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Evergy, Inc. are working together to monitor the work. It is part of the preparations for a new natural gas facility that will be built south of Maryville.
The intersection improvement is meant to make things safer and help traffic go more smoothly before work starts on the facility. Officials claim that the best plan would replace the current crossing with a J-turn layout.
With this design, cars wouldn’t have to cross several lanes of fast-moving traffic anymore. Instead, cars would turn right, merge with traffic, and then do a controlled U-turn to go in the direction they were headed. Transportation planners think this method will lessen the number of conflict points and reduce the likelihood of accidents while dealing with more traffic.
Read also: Short-term lane closures and flagging planned across Kansas City region this week
The Maryville Public Safety Training Room at 101 N. Vine Street will host an open house-style public meeting on Wednesday, January 21, 2026. Residents can come to the meeting between 4 and 6 p.m. Officials from MoDOT and Evergy who are working on the project will be there to answer questions and talk about the proposed design. There won’t be a formal presentation, so people can talk to each other one-on-one.
The goal of the gathering is to get feedback from the community before the initiative moves forward. Attendees can talk to project workers directly or write down their own ideas. MoDOT is planning to put the project out for bids from contractors in April 2026.
Read also: Missouri seeks restitution for consumers harmed by alleged insulin price fixing
Individuals who can’t come in person can also give their thoughts until Wednesday, February 4, 2026. Residents can look at project details and provide comments on the project website or send written input to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s St. Joseph office by mail. Officials say that comments sent by mail must be postmarked by the February 4 deadline to be included in the official record.
