Citizens Memorial Hospital CEO asks Bolivar to consider road improvements to speed ambulance access

Michael Calhoun, chief executive officer of Citizens Memorial Hospital, asked the Bolivar Board of Aldermen to consider funding local work to improve emergency access to the hospital at a presentation April 21.

Calhoun outlined the hospital’s ongoing expansion — including an emergency department the hospital plans to expand from 12 beds to 29 — and said ambulance access from Highway 13 currently requires vehicles to negotiate a narrow, zigzag route that creates safety and visibility problems. “Emergency access to the hospital…that’s a concern that we’ve had over the last several years,” Calhoun said.

Calhoun said the project team applied to the state Governor’s cost-share program, which provides a 50% match (up to program limits) for eligible road projects. Engineering presentation materials summarized two design options: a lower-cost option to widen the existing route and add shoulders, and a higher-cost option that would realign and straighten two sharp curves. The engineering firm estimated the larger, straightening option would exceed $2 million. Calhoun and the engineers said the overall project estimate discussed was roughly $1.6 million and that the county’s expected share on the smaller option was about $550,000–$580,000; those figures were presented as estimates by the project team.

Alan Irvin of Great River Engineering walked the board through the two alternatives and the trade-offs. “Option 2 also takes care of the hard curves right there near the hospital,” Irvin said, noting the straightening work increases costs because of additional right-of-way and vertical grading needs. A project engineer who was introduced as Guillermo described structural items such as culvert extensions that would be required for the widening option.

Council members pressed Calhoun and the engineers on who would pay what and whether the hospital would contribute construction funds. Calhoun said the hospital’s request is that the county and the city include their portions in future capital budgets (the county indicated it would consider its portion for a 2027 budget cycle) and that the hospital would consider donating land to enable the straightening option but would not commit to paying the construction match beyond land donation.

Council members raised budget and phasing questions, asking whether the local match could be spread across years. City staff said MoDOT program agreements contain strict rules and offered to consult the state program representative about possible phasing. The presentation closed with Calhoun offering tours of the hospital expansion and the mayor thanking hospital leadership for investment in the community.

What's next: Calhoun framed the meeting as a presentation and information sharing rather than a request for immediate action; board members asked staff to follow up with state program staff about matching and phasing options before any formal funding commitment.