Highway 59 Construction

A busy Four State highway is closed and it could have an effect on the start of the summer tourist season. One of the main roadways into Noel, Missouri is closed to through traffic. You`ll have to find an alternate route into Noel, because a portion of Highway 59 is closed. The Missouri Department of Transportation is back at the site, trying to fix a problem they thought they solved last month. The heavy rains are being blamed for more cracks in the road. "When the river goes down the road starts to slide. So that`s telling us that the river is probably cutting into the bank and washing out from underneath the slope," said Kent Boyd of MODOT. In the last few days, the road has slid 5 to 8 feet into the Elk River. "Today we have people out here from our headquarters in Jefferson City. Their geologists and their putting tests instruments into the slope. What they want to do with these instruments is measure how far the ground is moving--sideways up and down, exactly what its doing. They need to know that before they can tell us what the fix is," said Boyd. One of the businesses that rely on traffic from Highway 59 is the Noel Rafting Company and their coming up on one of their busiest times of the year with Memorial Day. They`re concerned how it`s going to affect their business while the road is being closed. "More people come out than any other time, it`s the biggest weekend. `cause with the road I don`t know if people know how to get here any other direction than 59. If they put signs at Anderson and at Pineville telling `em to come down H Highway, I think people could find out, "said Gary Poynor of the Noel Rafting Company. MODOT officals say the construction could take a few months to complete. There are several alternate routes into Noel while construction continues. You can take 71 south to H Highway or Highway 43 south to Highway 90. Reported By: Brad Douglas