Amish Take “Very Rare” Public Action — But This $6.4 Million Matter Is An Exception

The matter at hand is a major road overpass project in Seymour, Missouri – meant to help improve safety in the state’s largest Amish settlement.

It’s intended to go up in a part of the community where they are “genuinely scared” to drive their buggies, according to the former mayor.

We first came across this story back in January, when we learned the Amish were helping to fund preliminary studies for the project. That right there tells you a bit about how important local Amish view this to be.

Another demonstration of that is their involvement in the advocacy side of it. Their representative Danny Y. Schwartz spoke at a March meeting at City Hall, presenting the Amish side:

“In the other ($32.8 million) MoDOT plan, the crossing at Skyline Road (and North Division Street) is going to be eliminated, which pushes all of the traffic to the new intersection at (U.S.) 60 on the east edge of town,” Schwartz said.

“That just won’t be safe for our buggies. There will be accidents, lots of them. The ‘J-turn’ on the west end of town won’t help, either. The Amish will avoid that. But with this second overpass at the center of town, lives will be saved, no doubt about it.”

The overpass would provide safe passage over US 60, helping Amish avoid lighted intersections where they must cross the highway, which Alderman Doug Denney described as “extremely dangerous”, and the site of “a lot of accidents”, including fatalities.

In fact, an Amish man died on the road back in April, though that was in unusual circumstances – on a bike at a very early morning hour.

It’s not the most common thing for the Amish to get involved in public advocacy in this manner. Former Mayor Alicia Hagen underscored this:

Hagen said she was approached by the local Amish community, which joined the effort to advocate for the project.

“It’s very rare for the Amish to get involved in any politics of any kind,” Hagen said.

“However, they are genuinely scared for their safety. You know, we tend to think of the roads as just for the English who drive cars, but that’s not true. I mean, they are a large population here in Seymour.”

Though getting involved in the politics side of things may be uncommon, it’s not uncommon for the Amish to take the initiative to make improvements in their communities, and to put their money behind such improvements.

Examples we’ve seen lately include the Amish volunteer firefighters in Indiana who built a new station for their fire company, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Or, the Amish in one Michigan community who wish to volunteer to build a bridge over a river to avoid a dangerous highway – and even cover the full cost of it. That one is working its way through red tape, from what I understand.

Good News For Overpass Backers

Those supporting the overpass got some good news recently. KY3 reports that the overpass project has now been included in the governor’s restricted budget.

This doesn’t mean that the $6.4 million project will definitely proceed, as the governor has discretion as to what goes forward. Hagen summed things up with a note of hope:

“We do believe that the governor’s office sees the importance of this project, and we do believe that he will prioritize it accordingly,” Hagen said.

The report notes that there’s “no official timeline” for the overpass project.