Here’s the Rundown for Friday, July 10 — a road-work week ahead, some shoulder work up in Howard County, and a new state law that just landed a decision on every school board around here. Four things worth knowing.
Roads & I-70
Heads up: Rocheport’s Exit 115 is the I-70 turnaround this week (and through November)
If you drive I-70 west and normally get off at Route O (Exit 117), you can’t right now — the westbound ramps there are torn out for reconstruction and stay closed into late November, MoDOT says. The signed workaround runs you right past us: take Route BB at Exit 115 — Rocheport’s exit — loop back onto eastbound I-70, and come at Route O from the other side. That means more unfamiliar traffic feeling its way around our interchange for the next few months. MoDOT also warns of intermittent and long-term single-lane closures the length of the corridor, from the Saline County line to the Callaway County line, the week of July 13–19, with width restrictions that vary by spot — worth checking before you haul anything wide.
The bigger picture: why I-70 past Rocheport stays torn up until 2027
All the cones are one project: the $104 million Improve I-70: Boonville to Rocheport job, which is adding a third lane each way along the 13 miles from Route 5 in Boonville to the Rocheport bridge. It also widens two bridges — one over the Union Pacific tracks near mile marker 113, and one just west of the Missouri River bridge at our doorstep. MoDOT awarded it to Capital Paving and Construction in February; work started this spring and is expected to run through late 2027. Bookmark that page — as milestones land, it’s the horse’s-mouth source, and we’ll keep a running “what Rocheport needs to know” explainer pinned for the stretch that touches town.
Around the Counties
Howard County drivers: shoulder work on Route 124, and pavement repairs near New Franklin
Two smaller jobs for anyone headed up toward Fayette and New Franklin. Crews are doing shoulder work in spots along Route 124 between U.S. 63 and Route 240, keeping one lane open with flaggers — that’s the groundwork for a full resurfacing MoDOT expects to start this month, per its mid-Missouri roadwork notice. And closer to New Franklin, Business Route 240 gets pavement repairs at Route 5 on July 13–16, again one lane with flaggers. Neither closes the road; both are the kind of thing that turns a ten-minute run into twenty if you hit them at the wrong time.
Schools
A new “armed rangers” law hands a decision to every school board around here
Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a public-safety bill this week creating “Missouri Rangers” — a new class of school guard who, if a district signs off, can carry a firearm inside schools, on buses, and on district property, the Missouri Independent reports. The law leaves the real choices to each local district: whether to have rangers at all, whether they’re armed, and what they carry. The sponsor, state Sen. David Gregory, said he wanted schools to have “a choice to have a higher trained armed guard”; opponents argued more guns in schools is the wrong answer and pushed for mental-health support instead. Why it matters here: small districts like New Franklin R-1 and the schools our Rocheport kids attend now have to decide where they stand — expect it on a board agenda near you this fall. (A second bill Kehoe signed sets up a state commission to hear appeals of MSHSAA eligibility calls starting in 2027–28 — one to watch if you’ve got a student athlete.)
That’s the Rundown. Facts here come straight from the sources linked above — go read them in full if a story’s yours. See something we missed? That’s what the tip line is for.