Making a Better Byway

To better accommodate increasing traffic and improve safety, the Missouri Department of Transportation will build a "shared four-lane" highway, which consists of alternating passing lanes to give motorists an opportunity to pass another vehicle without having to drive into the opposing lane.

As traffic on two-lane rural roads increases, so do accidents. In 2005, 61 percent of those killed while driving died on rural, two-lane byways, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. To better accommodate increasing traffic and improve safety, the Missouri Department of Transportation will build a "shared four-lane" highway, which consists of alternating passing lanes to give motorists an opportunity to pass another vehicle without having to drive into the opposing lane. The design will also feature unique striping and signing to guide drivers through the alternating passing zones; a four-foot wide painted median buffer with rumble strips to alert drivers if they start to cross into oncoming traffic; and left-turn lanes at major intersections. The $44 million experiment will be tested on an 18-mile stretch of highway in southern Missouri. Such a design has been used for years throughout Europe but this is believed to be the first project of its kind in the United States. Construction will start next summer and is scheduled to be completed by 2010. To download an illustrated guide on the project, click here.

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