COLE/MONITEAU COUNTIES - On Friday, Oct. 31, officials will cut the ribbon on the first phase of the U.S. Route 50 relocation project in Cole and Moniteau Counties.

The ribbon-cutting event will be held at 10 a.m. on the new eastbound lanes near the Cole/Moniteau county line.  The ceremony will be held rain or shine and is open to the public.  To reach the ceremony location, the public is encouraged to take Shooters Club Road from existing Route 50 onto the new eastbound lanes.  Shooters Club Road is located one mile east of Route K.  Travel approximately 3 miles on the new lanes to the ceremony location near new County Line Road.

Following the ceremony, those attending will be invited to join the parade of cars and be among the first to travel the new eastbound lanes to the end of the project.  The highway is scheduled to officially open to traffic in both directions later in the day.

The first phase of the project to relocate Route 50 cost $30 million.  Work began in early 2007 and included constructing an 11-mile stretch of new four-lane U.S. Route 50 highway from just west of the existing St. Martins interchange in Cole County to Route K, east of California.  The new highway will allow for additional traffic capacity and improved safety.

Work on the second phase of the project began in August 2008 and includes relocating more than 8 miles of U.S. Route 50 from Route K to west of California.  The second phase of the project costs $24 million and will be completed in 2010.

For more information about this project or other transportation matters, please call 1-888-ASK-MoDOT (275-6636) or log onto http://www.modot.org/