Phelps County Highway Department

09/02/2026

Prayers to the MODOT worker and everyone involved. This right here is why you pay attention when you see workers working on the road. Put your phone down, move over and pay attention. These guys have families to go home to!!!!

Units are working a major vehicle crash at the 179 westbound involving a MODOT truck that has been struck by a tractor trailer. Multiple ambulances have been dispatched and the interstate is shut down.

09/02/2026

Westbound 44 drivers beware. This heat is wreaking havoc on the interstate again at the 179 before Doolittle.

Update at 3:10 PM:

MODOT crews are on location and working to fix the issue. We have no further details.

Original Post at 1:45 PM:

Interstate 44 westbound at the Doolittle exit (179) is starting to buckle up. MSHP and MODOT have been notified.

08/28/2026

NOTICE:

Capital Materials will be milling and paving County Road 8110 and County Road 2000 starting Monday, August 31st beginning at 7:00 am and continuing all week until they are finished weather permitting. While the roads will be open, there will be delays. Please be patient while they are working to improve the roads. Please pay attention to signs. Flaggers will be present. Thanks for understanding!

08/21/2026

J highway overpass is now open!!!!

08/17/2026

If you live in the green shaded areas, Intercounty will be spraying right of ways. Contact information is attached.

We have contracted with Apex Right of Way LLC to control the brush growing within the cooperative right-of-ways 𝙊𝙉𝙇𝙔 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨.
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Beginning around the first of September, Apex will be selectively applying a low-volume herbicide to the leaves of woody stemmed vegetation. All products used are registered with the EPA, have no grazing restrictions for animals and will not be applied in maintained yard areas. ⁠
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗔𝗽𝗲𝘅 𝗮𝘁 𝟴𝟳𝟬-𝟰𝟰𝟴-𝟮𝟭𝟴𝟯.⁠
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If you would like to learn more about our ROW program, visit our website: https://www.ieca.coop/right-way-maintenancefield-work

07/31/2026

Here we go again with mother nature being off her rocker. Please stay weather aware and report any damages. Stay safe everyone.

Another round of storms is expected to move through today and into the evening. There is a Marginal (1/5) to Slight (2/5) Risk for a few storms to become strong to severe this afternoon and evening, especially east of Highway 65 and between 4 and 11 PM. Damaging wind gusts are the primary hazard, but large hail and tornadoes cannot be ruled out.

07/31/2026

07/30/2026

We are sharing this again because we've received several questions/complaints about road mowing. Please remember we have 600 miles of roads to maintain in Phelps County as well.

We are working as quickly as we can to get all of the roads mowed. We have had multiple equipment breakdowns over the last 2 years. We get one machine running and the other breaks down. We even purchased a brand new machine, and it has broken down multiple times. Our two boom mowers are cutting the roads back the way they need to be, which takes time. We appreciate your patience as we work through the county.

Each mower mows a sector of road at a time. That means if you live on a road beginning with 1, you live in sector 1. Currently, one boom mower is finishing mowing sector 1 and will be moving to sector 3. The other boom mower is in sector 8. We are trying to get the roads done that have been not done the longest. That way, by the time we circle back to where we started, everyone is on the same schedule.

Please note that the brush hog does not mow gravel roads typically. It is only used on hard-surface roads. Gravel roads are typically mowed by the boom mowers.

We understand how important it is to keep the rights-of-way clear, and we are working as fast as possible to get them completed.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

07/24/2026

Sharing this again. We are working as fast as we can with mowing. The 2 boom mowers we have going are cutting the roads way back, the way they need to be done so it is taking some time. Please be patient with us. We know how important clearing the right of ways are and we are working as fast as we can to get them done. The brush hog DOES NOT mow the gravel roads, only the hard surface roads. They typically leave that to the boom mowers. Thank you!

07/10/2026

Well there we have it.

An EF-0 tornado with peak winds of 80 to 85 mph began along Homelife Plaza in Rolla and travelled south before lifting near Soest Road. Tree and building debris was laying in convergent patterns. Additional limbs were downed south of Soest Road, however it could not be determined as tornadic from that point on due to the lack of convergent damage. The tornado was on the ground for a total of 0.7 miles with a width of 200 yards and caused damage to trees and the roofs of several businesses.