MODOT Gives Highways a Good Cleaning Before All-Star Game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Crews with the Missouri Department of Transportation are working hard to make sure that Kansas City puts its best foot forward as thousands of baseball fans prepare to descend on the city for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game.

MoDOT workers have been clearing brush, trimming trees and chipping away at unsightly areas of landscape in preparation for the week-long All-Star Game festivities, which culminate on July 12 with the 83rd Annual MLB All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium.

Officials with MoDOT say that they have been working with numerous metro counties and other agencies to help with the cleaning effort.

“We definitely have a co-ordinated effort,” said Jesse Skinner of MoDOT. “Not only are we working on the maintenance part of the house, but we’ve been working with our construction partners with construction projects for several years now to target key roads to get projects done before the game.”

Thanks to a mild winter, crews have had a head-start on getting the area ready to receive visitors. Skinner says that MoDOT hopes to have most road projects done before the July 4th holiday, so that the final days before the game can be dedicated to cleaning, instead of a mad scramble to finish.

“We’ve known for a couple of years (that) the All-Star event was happening in KC, so it’s been factored into long-term planning,” said Skinner.