Rocheport Archives - Missourinet

Missouri House Education Committee chair back at Capitol, after recovering from COVID

February 21, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran state lawmaker who chairs the Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee says he’s recovered from COVID-19.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, tells Missourinet that he returned to the Statehouse in Jefferson City on Wednesday. He says his symptoms were fairly mild compared to what others have experienced. One of his symptoms was fatigue, and Bayse says he slept a lot.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, works in his Capitol office as he waits to vote on a supplemental budget on April 8, 2020 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

Basye is one of a number of Missouri lawmakers in both chambers who have battled COVID. The Missouri House missed a full week of session in January, due to the rising number of cases in the Capitol building.

Basye, who’s in his fourth and final House term, says he’s very thankful for Missouri’s medical personnel.

His committee will have a busy morning on Tuesday. They’ll hear testimony on several education bills, including Basye’s legislation to establish a recall procedure for school board members.

MoDOT expects influx of construction workers in central Missouri’s Rocheport, for I-70 bridge project

January 27, 2021 By Brian Hauswirth

State transportation officials say construction of the $240 million project to replace the aging I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport will begin late this year.

The current I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport was built in 1960. It’s in poor condition, according to MoDOT (2020 file photo courtesy of MoDOT’s Lissie Wade)

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) deputy project director Derek Lepper and other officials answered about 90 minutes of questions from residents, during a virtual open house Tuesday evening. The current bridge will be used, while the new one is built.

“Well our plan is to try and keep two lanes open in each direction (on current bridge) for the majority of the project and just utilize like single lane closures during non-peak hours to try and alleviate any congestion that we can,” Lepper says.

The new bridge is expected to be completed by December 2024. MoDOT describes the current bridge as “the lynchpin of America,” carrying more than 12 million vehicles annually. That includes 3.6 million trucks.

The current bridge, which was built in 1960, is listed in poor condition by MoDOT. The agency says the bridge connects a majority of the nation. Within 48 hours, trucks carrying goods to all 48 lower states will have crossed the Rocheport bridge, according to MoDOT.

The agency is also thanking leaders in several mid-Missouri communities for contributing to the massive Rocheport project. MoDOT Rocheport bridge project director Brandi Baldwin says local support is key.

“$4.2 million has been provided by Boone County, Cooper County, Boonville and Columbia making up those local monies,” says Baldwin. “And we would like to thank them today for helping us make this project a reality.”

Baldwin also announced during the virtual town hall that the current bridge will be demolished, once the new bridge opens.

She also says the new bridge will be required to carry six lanes of traffic, to accommodate future I-70 growth. She also says the project will bring an influx of construction workers to Rocheport, which is 16 miles west of Columbia.

Missouri has received an $81 million federal grant to replace the bridge. The federal grant was also tied-in to a related project to build 1.2 miles of truck climbing lanes on I-70 at east-central Missouri’s Mineola Hill. The Mineola Hill project, which is happening in Montgomery County, continues to progress. There are cranes on-site, along with equipment.

Snow-related crashes close westbound I-70 near mid-Missouri’s Rocheport (AUDIO)

January 20, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

The National Weather Service (NWS) says the highest snow totals from Monday’s winter storm extend from the Kansas City suburb of Lee’s Summit to Sedalia.

The National Weather Service is urging motorists to slow down in the snow (January 20, 2020 map courtesy of NWS Pleasant Hill Twitter page)

NWS Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins says while snow is ending north of the Missouri River, it’s still snowing in many locations across western, west-central and mid-Missouri.

“We’re seeing the Kansas City area over to Warrensburg and Sedalia into Columbia, Jefferson City and again down into the Lake of the Ozarks and over west in Clinton,” Adkins says.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol also says highways in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in the Kansas City metro have been slick, because of snow. Blowing snow has also been causing visibility issues.

Meantime, the Highway Patrol says about a dozen vehicles are involved in several snow-related crashes on westbound I-70 near mid-Missouri’s Rocheport. Several tractor trailers are involved, and westbound I-70 is closed there.

The I-70 Rocheport bridge is heavily-traveled. U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, has said more than 12 million vehicles cross the bridge annually, including three million trucks.

Rocheport is just west of Columbia.

As for Adkins, she’s urging motorists to slow down and to give themselves extra time.

“It is accumulating on the roadways and that is going to make them slick,” says Adkins. “So while we don’t anticipate multiple inches of snow, still take it easy. It’s going to be slick.”

Some areas have received an inch of snowfall. Missouri state troopers are urging you to stay focused on the road.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with National Weather Service (NWS) Pleasant Hill meteorologist Sarah Adkins, which was recorded on January 20, 2020:

Mid-Missouri Republican to chair House education committee (AUDIO)

December 5, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The new Missouri House education committee chairman is focused on educational choice, and says the committee’s aim is to ensure that every young person in Missouri has access to a quality education.

State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 20, 2019, as House Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann looks on (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communications)

House Speaker Elijah Haahr, R-Springfield, has appointed State Rep. Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, to chair the Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee.

Basye replaces former committee chairwoman Rebecca Roeber, R-Lee’s Summit, who died in July after suffering serious injuries in a head-on collision in March on Highway 50 in west-central Missouri’s Syracuse. Basye had served as Roeber’s vice-chair.

Chairman Basye tells Missourinet that parents should have as many options as possible for what they believe is best for their children.

“And whether that be the public school or a private school or a religious school or even a home school environment, I think the parents should have that opportunity to choose what might be best for their children,” Basye says.

While he supports educational reform and education choice options, Basye emphasizes that he will not attack public education. He attended St. Charles High School in eastern Missouri.

“I’m a product of public ed, my wife works for the Columbia public school (CPS) system, my grand kids are all public school children,” says Basye.

Missourinet also asked Chairman Basye about charter school legislation. He believes State Rep. Mike O’Donnell, R-Oakville, will file charter school legislation for 2020.

Charter school legislation was Roeber’s top priority. Current Missouri law limits charter schools to St. Louis, Kansas City and any unaccredited school districts.

They are state funded and operate independently of traditional public schools.

Basye’s sprawling district includes Boone, Cooper, Howard and Randolph counties. He’ll be serving his sixth year in the Missouri House.

State Rep. Dottie Bailey, R-Eureka, will serve as the committee vice chair in 2020, and State Rep. Judy Morgan, D-Kansas City, is the committee’s ranking Democrat.

The 2020 session begins on January 8.

Click here to listen to the full interview between Missourinet’s Brian Hauswirth and newly-appointed Missouri House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Chairman Chuck Basye, R-Rocheport, which was recorded on December 2, 2019 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:

Schatz: Eight-hour backups on I-70 Rocheport bridge would have had “astronomical costs” (AUDIO)

July 22, 2019 By Brian Hauswirth

The state Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has received an $81 million federal grant to replace the aging I-70 bridge in mid-Missouri’s Rocheport, a bridge that carries millions of vehicles annually.

Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) crews work on the I-70 Rocheport bridge (2019 file photo courtesy of MoDOT)

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt and Governor Mike Parson made the announcement Monday afternoon.

Parson says the funding will allow the existing bridge to be used during construction of the new bridge. Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, tells Missourinet motorists would have faced three to eight-hour backups without the grant, under a bridge rehabilitation.

“When you put the commerce that goes across I-70 basically in those types of traffic jams, you know seven, eight-hour traffic jams, the reality of what that really costs at the end of the day is astronomical,” Schatz says.

MoDOT says the 59-year-old bridge is in poor condition. The agency says more than 12 million vehicles cross the bridge annually. Pro Tem Schatz notes more than three million trucks cross it.

“Within 48 hours, there are trucks that are traveling across that bridge that are ending up somewhere within the lower 48 states in the United States,” says Schatz.

U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Harrisonville, agrees with Schatz, saying the new bridge will connect America’s east and west coasts. Hartzler’s sprawling district includes Rocheport.

The successful effort to land the $81 million grant has the strong, bipartisan support of Missouri’s congressional delegation. Hartzler tells Missourinet that U.S. Reps. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, and Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, signed her letter in support of the project.

In Jefferson City, Pro Tem Schatz says the bipartisanship highlights the project’s importance.

“I think Senator Blunt, Senator (Josh) Hawley, going to bat for Missouri obviously making the case for how critical this is to our state, not only to our state but to the economy in general across the whole country,” Schatz says.

Governor Parson says the grant will allow the $240 million project to build a new six-lane I-70 Rocheport bridge near the current one, as well as reconstructing the nearby Route BB interchange. The governor expects construction of the new bridge to begin in 2021.

The grant will also mean $301 million in state bonding that is expected to repair or replace another 215 bridges across the state. Schatz sponsored that provision in the Senate.

Click here to listen to Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Missouri Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, R-Sullivan, which was recorded on July 22, 2019: