By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
April 6, 2011

Last week, our reader, Laura McMickle, called it a death trap.

But, the Missouri Department of Transportation said it hasn’t received any complaints regarding the northbound entrance ramp from the Paseo to I-35.

March 16, approximately six months after the ramp opened, 45-year-old Troy Mitchell missed the first curve and crashed his motorcycle into the guardrail. Both Mitchell and his 13-year-old passenger died.

The new ramp features two curves – one to the right and one to the left before entering the highway. The previous ramp was straight.

“The previous ramp entered I-29 and I-35 on the left side, which is not the normal placement for an entrance ramp onto an interstate highway,” MoDOT District Engineer Beth Wright said. “So, the ramp was realigned (and moved to the right side) to provide a safer way to enter traffic.”

Asked why the new ramp features two curves, Wright said the curves were necessary to allow traffic to enter the highway from the right.

“We’re reviewing the entire footprint of the ramp,” she said.

That includes signage, alignment and other physical features, and is standard protocol following a fatality accident, she said.

Asked if MoDOT will install additional signage to warn motorists of the curves or change the ramp speed limit, Wright said she’s considering adding signage, but hasn’t made a final decision.

Wright said she hopes to finish the evaluation process within a “short period of time.”