MoDOT resumes I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Design-Build project

www.mycnews.com • Community News - St. Charles County • June 30, 2021 Around Town 5

O’Fallon Police Chief announces resignation

O’Fallon Police Chief Philip Dupuis announced his resignation from the department effective June 18. City Administrator Mike Snowden accepted Dupuis’ resignation and named Major John Neske as the acting chief.

“We are sorry to see Chief Dupuis leave, but we understand why he has made this decision,” said Mayor Hennessy. “In his short time here, Chief Dupuis has made a tremendous impact on our police department. I am grateful to him and wish him the best, and I am confident that the brave men and women of the department will continue to provide the highest levels of service to our community under the leadership of Acting Chief Neske.”

Dupuis expressed concern over the poor wording and future unintended consequences of House Bill 85, citing that as the main reason for his sudden departure from the department. House Bill 85 was designed to protect the Second Amendment right to bear arms of Missouri citizens and was recently signed into law by Governor Mike Parson. It creates a civil cause of action for when any law enforcement or municipal officer acts in a way that infringes on those rights. This provision is what concerns Dupuis.

“I completely understand the motivation behind Missouri legislators’ desire to protect the gun rights of their citizenry,” said Dupuis. “I’m a strong proponent of the Second Amendment and have always respected those rights during my four decades in law enforcement. The problem with this statute is the poorly worded language that removes sovereign immunity and appears to allow law enforcement agencies and individual police officers to be sued for even good faith justified seizures of firearms in emergency circumstances.

“Every police department in the country seizes weapons during arrests for criminal activity or when they feel it is immediately necessary to protect someone who may be suicidal or threatening to harm others. This statute allows that officer to be sued if the individual believes that seizure ‘infringed upon their second amendment rights.’ This vague language will create a flood of weaponized litigation that will chill the legitimate peace keeping duties of police. This will decrease public safety and increase frivolous lawsuits designed to harass and penalize good hard working law enforcement agencies. Highly effective partnerships between local and federal law enforcement agencies will have to be reevaluated.

“I’m not willing to risk my family’s financial future on a poorly written piece of legislation that opens me and my fellow officers up to being sued even when they act lawfully and appropriately. In the current national environment of hostility towards law enforcement, the legislature appears to have handed anti-police activists a powerful weapon to abuse and torment law enforcement across the state of Missouri. They need to recognize their mistake and immediately go back to the drawing board. Unfortunately, until they do, I am going to have to step away from a job I truly love.”

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MoDOT resumes I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Design-Build project after incorporating the public’s input

After reviewing the public’s input, The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) will resume the I-70 Cave Springs to Fairgrounds Design-Build Project. MoDOT and St. Charles County officials reviewed the feedback of more than 3,000 comments. The responses were received during a public comment period from December 2020 to June 2021.

The procurement process will begin shortly and MoDOT will present the final design by February 2022 and construction is anticipated to begin spring of 2022.

“We heard the public’s concerns about a potential one-way conversion of the outer roads to improve the safety and congestion issues. We went back to the drawing board to see if we could improve the interchanges while keeping a two-way outer road system,” said Stacey Smith, MoDOT Project Director.

MoDOT has evaluated how improvements to the interchanges will work with both one-way and two-way options and both designs have benefits.

“Based on this, we have decided that leaving all options on the table will give the public the best possible project.” Smith said, “Our team listened to the public, and we’ve dramatically changed the priorities of this project. Connectivity is now the number one goal.”

Better connectivity will make access to local businesses and homes easier. The current roadway design and inefficient traffic flow have restricted connectivity for over a decade. In addition, this project is a regional priority due to the high crash rate.

This section of I-70 was built in the 1950s and 1960s, making it one of the oldest sections of interstate in the country and one of the busiest in Missouri. The congestion at the interchanges often causes traffic to back down the off-ramps to I-70 during rush hours. To improve connectivity, safety, and efficiency, MoDOT is looking at both the entire corridor and local system and is open to all solutions for the interstate, outer roads, interchanges, and side street access.

The project is a joint project with St. Charles County, who has contributed $10 million of the $62 million cost of the reconstruction.

For more information, visit www.i70csfg.com for project updates. To contact the project team, please send an email to i70csfg@modot.mo.gov.