Since mid-August, Route 95 between Route 32 and Route 60 has been down to one lane with a 10-foot width limit. Contractor crews have been there from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. MoDOT's release set the work to run, weather permitting, from Monday, Aug. 17 through Friday, Oct. 30. If the weather holds, the cones come down after that Friday.
That job is pavement repair. The much larger widening project on the same road is still on paper. It is also running about two years behind the schedule Mountain Grove heard at the 2024 hearing.
What the cones were, and what they weren't
The fall work zone was a maintenance job. MoDOT's release calls it "pavement repairs" and says nothing about lanes, turn bays or intersections.
The widening is a different project with its own page. MoDOT's Route 95 Roadway Widening page still lists it as in the "Planning Phase." Here is what's planned:
- A center left-turn lane from near the U.S. 60 interchange to Business 60
- A five-lane roadway from the Route 60 eastbound ramps to 17th Street
- A roundabout at 3rd Street and Route 95
- A second roundabout where Route 95 meets the U.S. 60 eastbound on and off ramps
- Fewer access points along the corridor, and sidewalks rebuilt to current ADA standards
The Wright County Journal's coverage of the November 2024 hearing reported that the revised plan added a pedestrian crossing over the Highway 60 bridge. That was one of the changes made after the first round of public comments in 2023.
The calendar moved two years
At that open house in the Glenn and Ytoka Kemper Senior Center, the timeline sounded close. The Journal reported that right-of-way offers could go out in summer 2025, with construction in 2026 and a goal of finishing in fall 2027. MoDOT's own hearing handout gave the same window.
The project page now tells a later story.
| Milestone | November 2024 hearing handout | MoDOT project page today |
|---|---|---|
| Project letting | Spring 2026 | December 2027, tentative |
| Construction begins | As early as summer 2026 | As early as spring 2028 |
| Completion | Fall 2027 | Fall 2029 |
The earliest construction start used to be summer 2026, a season that has already come and gone. It is now spring 2028, a year and a half away. The finish date moved two years. MoDOT hasn't published a reason for the shift. The public record shows only the dates moving.
The price grew too, and the budget shows the order of work
In March 2025, MoDOT asked the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to approve the location and design presented at the hearing. The Commission's meeting packet listed the project as Job No. JSE0145, 1.31 miles long, from Business 60 at 3rd Street to Route N. Its estimated cost was $11.9 million. The packet also explains why approval mattered right then: Commission action on location and design is required before right-of-way can be acquired.
MoDOT's 2027–2031 Highway and Bridge Construction Schedule, dated Oct. 7, 2026, carries a Wright County Route 95 project under the matching number SE0145. It is described as "Add intersection turn lanes and improvements" and involves bridge A3457. That line shows:
- An estimated total of $17.27 million, up from the $11.9 million in the March 2025 packet
- $2.874 million for right-of-way in the fiscal-year column running July 2026 through June 2027
- $11.847 million for construction in the column running July 2027 through June 2028
- An award date of 2028
The schedule's description is shorter than the project page, and it lists the length as 1.62 miles instead of 1.31. Still, the number, route and county match. Read that way, the sequence is right-of-way money in the fiscal year Mountain Grove is in now, then construction money the year after. That fits a December 2027 letting and a spring 2028 start.
Property owners along the corridor who want to know where their parcel stands can call MoDOT's Customer Service Center at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636).
Why MoDOT wants the change at all
The Commission packet gives the department's reason in one line. The total accident rate along this section of Route 95 is higher than the statewide average for similar roads.
The hearing handout makes the case for the roundabouts with figures. A signalized intersection has roughly 20 to 30 points where vehicle paths can cross. A roundabout has eight. The handout cites a potential crash reduction of up to 76 percent. It also says the center turn lane should improve traffic flow and lower the chance of crashes.
"In an effort to improve safety, access points along the corridor will be removed."
That sentence from the project page is the part of the plan most people in town will feel in an ordinary week.
What a Main Street errand run looks like after 2029
The handout says access points will be removed but doesn't list them. The Wright County Journal went business by business through the 2024 draft, from the light by Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home up to the Highway 60 overpass. Grouped by the stops people make most, the draft looked like this:
Food and drive-thrus
- Sonic loses its Main Street entry. Customers come in from 16th Street.
- The Domino's drive-thru loses its Main Street entry. All customers use 17th Street.
- Taco Bell loses both of its Main Street entries. A new paved access enters the lot from the side, just past Hawkins.
- McDonald's loses its exit after the drive-thru.
Groceries and gas
- Country Mart loses all of its Main Street entries to both the grocery store and the gas station. Customers use the street next to the parking lot.
Banking and offices
- Edward Jones loses one Main Street entry and gets a new connection to Southern Hills.
- Community First Bank loses one Main Street entry.
- Legacy Bank & Trust loses one entry, the one across from OakStar Bank.
- American Family Insurance customers use 7th Street.
- Select Finance customers use 8th Street.
- The front access to Town and Country Insurance goes away. Customers come through the Town & Country Bank lot.
Health care and child care
- The 9th Street entry next to Thomas Dentistry is eliminated. Customers use the path next to Super Lube.
- Fresenius Kidney Care loses one Main Street entry.
- Apple Blossom Learning Center loses its Main Street entry.
- The Pamperien Center loses its Main Street entry in front of the dentist and at 11th Street. The former "Back in Time" building comes down, and a new entry is placed on the other side of where it stood.
Everything else on the corridor
- Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home loses some parking to the 3rd Street roundabout.
- Wright County Land Services customers go through the Oriental Hut lot.
- Portable Buildings, McGownd Auto Sales, Mr. B's and Colorxpress each lose one Main Street entry.
- Businesses next to the city dump get their access from the dump entrance instead of Main Street.
That list reflects the November 2024 draft. The March 2025 Commission request asked for approval of "the location and design as presented at the public hearing," and the project page still describes the same concept. Individual driveways can still change before letting. MoDOT says it will release details on city street closures before construction starts.
The years in between
With construction at least a year and a half out, Main Street keeps its current driveways through 2027. That includes the Sonic turn-in, the Country Mart entrances and the Taco Bell lot.
The corridor isn't standing still, though. OakStar Bank is putting up a 7,500-square-foot building on North Main Street next to its current branch. Site work began Feb. 16, and the Wright County Journal reported in March an estimated build time of around 365 days.
Once work begins, MoDOT expects periodic single-lane closures for most of the project. Short temporary closures will be needed when the roundabouts are tied into the existing pavement. Some city street closures will last several days, and others only during working hours. For now, the schedule points to spring 2028 for the first of those, and fall 2029 for a finished Main Street.
If you own a home or business near Route 95 and wonder how the new timeline fits your own plans, the team at Wild Hills Realty is glad to talk it through, no pressure. When you'd like a clear starting point, ask us for a free home valuation.
