Six More Miles Of Avenue Of The Saints To Open

By Mike Scott

Six more miles of the four-lane Avenue of the Saints will open soon.  On Monday morning, over  fifty MoDOT, local and state officials, and members of the public gathered at Mound Park along Highway 61 for a ceremonial procession to the new stretch of highway.
“Here we go again.  Another milestone, and it’s great,” said Tom Boland, who has been a diligent advocate for completing the Avenue of the Saints. 
“The plan always was 15 years, plus two years for construction.  We’re on target,” Boland added.
All three Clark County commissioners were on hand for the occasion.
“We’ve been anxiously awaiting this moment,” said Presiding Commissioner Paul Allen.  “Today is an example of what can happen when everyone works together and no one cares who gets the credit.”
With horns honking, Boland led the procession, breaking through a banner on the highway at the south end of the soon to open stretch of highway, near Canton.
Following the procession, a celebration was held at Dave’s Fireworks in Canton, where speakers included Lewis Co. Commissioner Nancy Goehl, Canton Mayor Joe Clark, Dr. C. Clark Todd of Culver Stockton College, SMART representative Corey Moon, Mark Parkinson from Senator Bond’s office, Scott Callicott of Congressman Hulshof’s office, State Representative Brian Munzlinger and MoDot District Engineer Paula Gough.