JEFFERSON CITY – The Show-Me State received promising infrastructure news twice this week, with the announcement of new road improvements in mid-Missouri and the receipt of over $1 billion from the federal government.
On Monday, the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MHTC) announced it had approved $11 million to be put toward road improvements mainly in central Missouri. The funding and contracts were approved earlier this month, and the work will begin next year.
Contractor Emery Sapp and Sons received a $2.5 million contract for improvements to Interstate 70 in Callaway County. Magruder Paving received a $4.4 million contract to improve rural routes, also in Callaway County. Other enhancements include work on rural roads in Phelps, Miller, Morgan, Laclede, Camden and Crawford Counties.
MHTC received 84 bids on the 26 contracts it opened for bidding on Sept. 16.
“Looking over the bids this month, it’s really exciting to see the competition entered back into the arena,” MHTC Commissioner Dustin Boatwright told the California (Missouri) Democrat. “So hopefully that continues, and we see some of these inflationary pressures start coming back down.”
On the federal side, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released $1.4 billion to Missouri for the 2023 fiscal year as a part of the recent bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The money will go directly to Missouri and allow state leaders the flexibility to use the money where it is needed most. The funds are meant for roads, bridges, tunnels, carbon emission reduction and safety improvements.
Among the projects to be awarded in fiscal year 2024 is a large expansion of U.S. 54 and U.S. 63 north of Jefferson City to add lanes to the sections of highway that exit toward Columbia.
“If you drive through there during the morning and evening, basically rush hours, you know that area gets pretty congested. So, we’re going to be able to address that and basically improve the way it flows through that area,” Assistant Central District Engineer Randy Aulbur told the News Tribune in Jefferson City.
The amount of funds given to specific programs are as follows:
| National Highway Performance Program | $716,403,356 |
| Surface Transportation Block Grant | $348,520,552 |
| Highway Safety Improvement Program | $75,116,603 |
| Railway-Highway Crossings Program | $6,118,421 |
| Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Program | $26,196,634 |
| Metropolitan Planning | $6,994,139 |
| National Highway Freight Program | $33,488,038 |
| Carbon Reduction Program | $31,076,416 |
| PROTECT Formula Program | $35,336,111 |
| National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program | $21,078,237 |
| Bridge Formula Program | $104,684,966 |
