LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — Construction crews are finishing up the interchange near Harris Park Community Center.
When complete, the US-50/291 Hwy interchange will be a Diverging Diamond (DDI) with a roundabout at the north end. The interchange was scheduled to finish up in October, but a change in plans gave crews the ability to finish early.
"We made the commitment to get done before school was out, before the projects started here at Harris Park Community so that the people who wanted to come use this area would be able to do so freely without having to worry about going through a work zone," said Jacob Wilson, a MoDOT engineer with the Lee's Summit project.
MoDOT had to close down the northern portion of the interchange to accelerate the project. The interchange is scheduled to reopen fully on May 11.
"After that, there will be some work that needs to be completed, grass will need to grow," said Wilson.
There is only one other intersection in Kansas City built like this one. The interchange of I-49 and 155th is also a DDI with a roundabout at one end.
MoDOT said the configuration can be confusing at first.
"Traffic really needs to follow the signs. Be careful when you go through it the first few times and get use to what kind of turn and movement you need to make," said Wilson.
For an animation of how this interchange works, click here.
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