Wasn't this one of the big things Clinton promised right after he got into office??? There was supposed to be a 4 lane highway from St. Paul to St. Louis by now- actually a few years ago. I remember all of the fanfare about the avenue of the saints and how it would help traffic etc and now it was "fully funded". It is not finished in Iowa yet either, but at least the accident rate isn't like it is near this little town.

Mo. Students Campaign for Highway By BETSY TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer

CANTON, Mo. (AP) - U.S. Highway 61 is known as the Avenue of the Saints along much of its 526-mile stretch from St. Louis to St. Paul, Minn. But near Canton in northeast Missouri, it's known as Death Alley.

Here, the road switches from a four-lane highway with a median to a two-lane road with only a painted line separating oncoming traffic.

Since 1980, 36 people have died on that span of road, including 15 since 1998.

``When we hear the sirens, the whole town freezes. You start counting people,'' said Lindsay Gaither, 19.

When 18-year-old Kristin Hendrickson died, her classmates decided they'd had enough.

The next day, they formed Students of Missouri Assisting Rural and Urban Transportation, or SMART, to promote safe roads and lobby for funding for transportation improvements.

They made a video. They talked with organizations and businesses, with the state's transportation officials, with their representatives and senators.

And they started accomplishing things.

``When Kristin died, we were angry, huddling, not reacting very well,'' Gaither said.

SMART gave them an outlet, and the students found their efforts weren't going unnoticed.

``They didn't just attend the funeral and mourn the loss of their friend,'' Gov. Bob Holden said Friday. ``They wanted to do something about it and it became a mission.''

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With 2,500 residents, Canton's not just the kind of small town where people leave their doors unlocked - it's a place where people also leave the car running with the keys in the ignition while they run to do an errand. Jeff McReynolds, the town fire chief, has returned to find UPS packages waiting on the front seat, because the delivery guy recognized his car.

Hendrickson was one of Canton High School's 49 seniors, a free spirit who was on the pom pom squad, played the flute and loved to draw. She was driving home from work at a music store shortly after 9 p.m. on March 22, 2000, when a pickup truck tried to pass a tractor-trailer and crossed into her path.

With nowhere to go, her car was struck head-on and thrown into a ditch.

She was buried in the lime green dress she had chosen for the prom.

The pickup truck's driver was convicted of vehicular manslaughter. But students were certain that if the road had four lanes, the driver could have safely passed.

The stretch of highway isn't among Missouri's worst in terms of accident rates, said Kevin Fuller, an assistant district engineer in the Missouri Department of Transportation. But he said the department is working for improvements.

``Unfortunately, we don't have all the resources we need for projects,'' he said.

The students began working with advisers including McReynolds, who's also the president of the 61 Corridor Coalition, a not-for-profit group that lobbies for highway improvements.

At first, students were told much of the highway couldn't undergo construction until 2020. That's a long time, they noted, especially to people who aren't even 20 years old yet.

Then, their petition drives, letter writing, e-mail campaigns and lobbying began to pay off.

With students focusing attention on the issue, Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., helped secure $4 million in federal funding to upgrade part of the U.S. 61 stretch in October. In January, the state's transportation commission endorsed a plan to spend $22.5 million to upgrade 10.6 miles.

The money funds engineering, right-of-way purchases and allows construction to begin to change more of the road to four lanes.

Holden spoke about the students in his State of the State address; lawmakers gave them a standing ovation.

SMART raised enough money for 10 students to lobby in Washington D.C., in July. They talked about the $6.75 million needed to buy right-of-ways to change the remaining 14 miles to the Iowa border into a four-lane road.

Then a few weeks ago, tragedy struck again.

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At 19, Adam Martin was an athlete who always seemed to have a new girlfriend. Seventeen-year-old Darrin Cale loved fixing up cars and sometimes turned heads driving a souped-up lawn mower around town.

``He even had a little wagon that went on the back, you know, for passengers,'' Gaither said.

In a fierce storm, Cale lost control of his car and slid sideways into the path of a tractor-trailer. He and Martin, his passenger, died at the scene.

After their deaths, SMART students strengthened their resolve, even as some students are now well into college.

They're encouraging chapters in other high schools and colleges. And they've started a new petition drive, seeking to convert all lanes to four by September 2004.

A few weeks ago, the group received a letter from the governor.

``You are the voice that Kristin, Darrin and Adam have no more,'' it said. ``Your work has influenced me and many others to push for change. Your work is making a difference to many lives - and more importantly, saving many lives.''

Students said their work is far from over.

``Maybe these last deaths reminded us to pick up the pace,'' Gaither said. ``You never know when it will happen again.''

-- Anonymous, September 02, 2001