Travelers entering Missouri from southbound Interstate 29 soon will have a brand new facility to welcome them to the state. The Rock Port Welcome Center in Atchison County officially will be opened to the public at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, during a formal dedication ceremony, according to the Missouri Division of Tourism and the Missouri Department of Transportation.
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At the ceremony, the City of Rock Port will be recognized for their vision and contribution to this facility. In addition, the welcome center will be re-dedicated to Senator Hardin Cox. A Blue Star Memorial Highway bronze marker also will be re-dedicated.
The theme of the new Welcome Center is "Energy Conservation and Alternative Energy: Past & Present." Working with Missouri Western State University, Northwest Missouri State University, and various historical and energy experts, informational panels throughout the building educate visitors about energy use and production. The site does more than just educate. Energy conservation and sustainability was designed into the project and will save Missourians thousands in the years to come. In fact, a Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) certification is being sought for the project.
The new welcome center has many other great new features for travelers:
Greatly expanded parking with 40 truck parking places, 58 car parking places and three bus parking spots (and with 20-25 additional parking spots for trucks only at each Mound City rest area location, truck parking on I-29 will quadruple in northwest Missouri)
Walking/play area for children
Efficient LED technology allowing the display of weather and road conditions, while reducing the environmental impact
Promotional literature on attractions across the state – including those in northern Missouri
Information about lodging and dining options both near and far
"While we are excited to open this new facility for travelers, it’s also the last new welcome center to be built in the state, due to a shortage of both federal and state funding," said MoDOT Northwest District Engineer Don Wichern. "MoDOT is working to put every possible dollar on the road to take care of the system we have as best we can, as long as we can with available funds. Soon Missourians will have to decide what kind of transportation system they want, what it will do for them, and how we will pay for it." The welcome center was built primarily with federal funding, money that can’t be used on state roads.
The new center is located on I-29 just south of the town of Rock Port. (Please note that because the welcome center is designed to service travelers just entering Missouri, it is accessible only from southbound I-29.) Construction began on the new center last August.
For more information about this or other MoDOT projects, please call our toll-free customer service hotline at 1-888-ASK-MODOT (1-888-275-6636), check the Traveler Information Map on MoDOT’s Northwest District website at www.modot.org/northwest, MoDOT’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MoDOTNWDistrict and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ModotNorthwest.