Intersection at U.S. 60 and Hwy. 125 set to reopen in Rogersville

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — The $20 million fix of U.S. 60 at Highway 125 in Rogersville, intended to reduce crashes and ease congestion, is set to reopen.

Drivers are looking forward to it, along with first responders who have seen a fair share of crashes at the intersection over the years.

“It’s going to be a great relief to have this open. Response times, especially from our district headquarters, will improve that we can get on the highway,” said Richard Stirts, Logan-Rogersville Fire Chief.

Stirts said since construction began, his team was forced to find alternative routes.

“Currently, depending on which lane the traffic is, station on the west end or east end is really covering that and both sides of the highway,” Stirts said. “So it’s, it’s affected our response a bit.”

With the first day of school around the corner for Logan-Rogersville, Stirts said safety will improve ten-fold.

“You know, I’ve seen in 31 years of our team here a lot of fatalities on this highway and many of them right here in this intersection. And you know, it can’t stop all fatalities, but it sure does go a long way in making it safer to get off there,” said Stirts.

The Missouri Department of Transportation announced the plans for the interchange six years ago in 2018, and until now, there was a stop light in place that caused delays and long back-ups for drivers.

Now, teachers and students at Logan-Rogersville High School can enjoy a much smoother morning and afternoon commute.

“And since they’ve been doing all the construction work, I’ve been having to go around coming from Ozark, coming out to Rogersville. So that’s been a big pain. So really excited to see, see this back end back in action and have a quicker route to work every day,” said Jake Zahn, a driver who frequents the area.

While the interchange opens on Thursday, Aug. 15, the entire project is scheduled to be completed by early November.

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