Jefferson County’s Hwy. 21 Task Force is mobilizing to take its case to the East-West Gateway Coordinating Council.
The task force met Tuesday in Hillsboro and decided to round up as many members and citizens as possible to attend the East-West board meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
At that meeting, the Major Transportation Investment Analysis (MTIA) study of Hwy. 21 will be presented to the board for approval. The study, prepared by HDR Engineering of Overland Park, Kan., recommends that 16 miles of Hwy 21, from Schenk Road to De Soto be upgraded to a four-lane expressway.
The project is not in East-West Gateway’s short-term funding plan. Acceptance of the MTIA would make Hwy. 21 eligible for inclusion in that schedule, which will be reviewed and amended in September. East-West Gateway is the regional clearinghouse for highway projects.
Roland said it as important for Jefferson Countians to let the East-West board know haw they feel about Hwy. 21.
“We need to be there to show that we care.” Roland said. “We need to keep the pressure on East-West Gateway and our elected officials. We need to show this isn’t going to go away. We need to be at every meeting there is.”
The task force will gather Wednesday between 8 and 8:30 a.m. at both the Hillsboro Civic Club Grounds and the Hillsboro Knights of Columbus, both on Hwy. 21. They will organize members into carpools to attend the 10 a.m. meeting at 10 Stadium Plaza in downtown St. Louis.
“They won’t ask us anything but they’ll see the numbers there,” Roland said. “We’re going to make up about 200 badges saying we support Hwy. 21. If have 200 people go, we’ll fill up the room.”
For information on the trip call Roland at Hillsboro City Hall, Les Reed, Marsha Greenstreet or Wayne Wiley.
