MoDOT Details $18.8 Million Route 47 Project as Construction Prepares to Begin
- John Eads
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
HAWK POINT, Mo. — A strong turnout filled the Hawk Point Lions Club Monday afternoon as residents, local officials and emergency responders gathered to get a closer look at the major changes coming to Route 47 between Hawk Point and Troy.
The Missouri Department of Transportation hosted a public informational meeting from 4 to 6 p.m. on July 13, providing residents an opportunity to review construction plans, examine proposed traffic-control layouts and speak directly with the people involved in the $18.8 million safety and operational improvement project.
The parking area was already crowded shortly after the meeting began, with vehicles filling available spaces as residents continued arriving. Inside, large construction maps and engineering displays covered tables and presentation boards throughout the room.
Rather than holding a formal presentation, MoDOT organized the meeting as an open house. Residents could move through the displays at their own pace, review the portions of the project most relevant to them and speak individually with MoDOT representatives, engineers and members of the construction team.
Project representatives spent the afternoon answering questions, walking residents through construction maps and explaining how planned road closures, lane restrictions and detours may affect properties, businesses and daily travel.
Information was available throughout the room, including project brochures, roadway diagrams, construction schedules, traffic-control plans and detailed maps showing how work is expected to progress between Hawk Point and Troy.
Representatives from Magruder Paving, the contractor selected for the project, were also present to discuss the upcoming work.
Several local officials and public safety representatives attended the meeting, including Hawk Point Mayor Mark Seigler, Lincoln County Ambulance District Chief Ray Antonacci, city aldermen and members of the local fire service.
The project covers approximately 6.7 miles of Route 47, beginning near the Routes A/D intersection in Hawk Point and continuing east toward Troy, ending just west of the Routes H/J intersection.
MoDOT identified continued residential and commercial growth, increasing traffic volumes, deteriorating pavement, narrow travel lanes and the lack of paved shoulders as factors contributing to the need for improvements along the corridor.
The existing travel lanes are approximately 11 feet wide and currently have no paved shoulders. Planned improvements include widening the travel lanes to 12 feet and adding paved shoulders throughout the project area.
The project also includes resurfacing Route 47, adding curbs and gutters between Routes A/D and Lincoln Trail in Hawk Point, realigning two curved portions of the roadway, replacing culverts and completing drainage improvements.
A continuous center turn lane will be constructed between Bennington Drive and the Routes H/J intersection near Troy. The dedicated turning lane is intended to provide motorists with additional space to wait for turns while allowing through traffic to continue moving.
The intersection of Route 47 and Bohemian Church Road is also expected to receive significant improvements.
Bohemian Church Road currently intersects Route 47 in a valley between two rises in the highway, creating sight-distance concerns for motorists attempting to enter or cross Route 47.
Planned work includes roadway profile improvements intended to increase visibility and allow motorists to better see approaching traffic.
Construction is scheduled to begin in July 2026 and continue through summer 2028.
MoDOT has divided the approximately 6.7-mile project into seven construction segments. Work is expected to begin near Hawk Point and generally move east toward Troy as construction progresses.
Traffic impacts will vary depending on the location and type of work underway. Motorists should expect lane reductions, narrowed travel lanes, flaggers, pilot-car operations, temporary road closures and signed detours during different stages of construction.
Through portions of Hawk Point, traffic is expected to remain open under temporary traffic-control plans. Motorists may encounter one-lane traffic directed by flaggers and a pilot vehicle. Temporary travel lanes may be narrowed to approximately 10 feet in active construction areas.
Other portions of the project will require temporary full road closures while major roadway realignments, culvert replacements and other improvements are completed.
During full closures, traffic will be directed along official signed detour routes. MoDOT plans to release additional information regarding the timing and duration of individual closures as construction progresses.
The Route 47 corridor serves residents traveling between Hawk Point and Troy while also carrying school traffic, commercial vehicles and emergency responders.
Continued growth along the corridor has increased the number of vehicles using the roadway each day, while much of the existing highway continues to operate without paved shoulders.
The addition of wider lanes, paved shoulders, turning lanes, drainage improvements and improved sight distances is intended to increase safety while preparing the corridor for continued residential and commercial growth.
All necessary right-of-way acquisitions were completed in 2024. Utility relocation work and other early project activity are underway as construction prepares to begin.
Monday’s meeting gave residents an opportunity to see how Route 47 may look following construction, identify where closures are anticipated and better understand how traffic could be managed during each stage of the project.
The large turnout also gave residents direct access to the engineers, transportation officials and construction representatives involved in the work before major construction begins.
Residents and regular commuters can register for MoDOT email and text updates to receive information regarding construction progress, lane restrictions, road closures and detours.
Questions regarding the project may be directed to MoDOT Assistant District Engineer Keith Killen at 660-385-8222 or Area Engineer Jeff Niemeyer at 573-808-3562.
Lincoln CountyWatch also reached out to the City of Hawk Point for additional comment regarding the project and its anticipated impact on the community but had not received a response at the time of publication.
Construction schedules, traffic-control plans and closure dates remain subject to change as work progresses. Lincoln CountyWatch will continue following the Route 47 project and provide updates as construction begins, closures are announced and work advances between Hawk Point and Troy.
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Primary Sources
Missouri Department of Transportation project materials and engineering displays
MoDOT representatives and project engineers
Magruder Paving representatives
July 13, 2026, public informational meeting at the Hawk Point Lions Club
Lincoln CountyWatch on-site reporting, observations and photographs