Highway 36 Groundbreaking Celebration

On Monday morning, November 13, 2006, a large crowd of area residents gathered for the groundbreaking of an additional 52 miles of four lanes of Highway 36, a long anticipated event.  Commissions and committees have been working for a number of years to extend the four lanes of highway from Hannibal to Macon.    Seven miles of four lanes were added from Hannibal to the Rocket area, but the remaining 52 miles have been a challenge.  However, on this day, communities were finally able to witness the vision become a reality.  Numerous dignitaries spoke including Kirk Juranas, Congressman Kenny Hulshof, State Senator-elect Wes Shoemyer, State Rep. Rachel Bringer & Kathy Chinn, Tom Boland, Craig Jones and Pete Rahn, Director of MoDOT.  Construction has already begun on the 52-miles of highway and is expected to be completed by 2010.  Dignitaries thanked many of those who worked so hard for this accomplishment and the partnership between residents of Northeast Missouri and MoDOT.  The completion of this four-lane highway means safer travel and a boost to economic development as more industry will be attracted to the area because of better transportation and ultimately, more jobs will be created.  The groundbreaking meant so much to so many people.  Tom Boland took a moment for a reading dedicated to Herb Parham, who he said was a guy who would never quit, and he related it to the people in Northeast Missouri who worked so diligently on this project for many years.  The celebration ended with a cheer from Hannibal, Monroe City and Mark Twain High School cheerleaders.

Continental Cement Upgrade

 

In 1903, the Atlas Portland Cement Company began producing cement out of plant # 5 in Hannibal.  The plant had many small kilns operating side by side.  In the mid 1960’s, there was a major upgrade in production that involved one large kiln using a slurry, or mud, of raw materials,  Now, 40 years later, Continental Cement Company is upgrading again.  In the 1960’s upgrade, the plant began a “long wet kiln” process. However, the current technology allows for a dry process that enables more cement to be made with the same amount of energy usage.  Water, that was used to make the slurry, is no longer needed, so there is considerable energy savings.

 

Construction of the upgrade began in July and will be completed in about 18 months.  The new process will assure the Hannibal community that a cement plant will be operating for many years, and cement will continue to be an anchor industry for the area.