State may give Hwy. 67 south effort $5.8M

Poplar Bluff could receive almost $5.8 million to help fund a project to four lane Highway 67 south to the Arkansas state line.

The information was shared Monday evening with members of the Poplar Bluff City Council during their regular meeting.

The 50-50 cost sharing effort would help pay for two miles of four lane south from the Doniphan turnoff at Highway 160, said city manager Mark Massingham.

The money is part of $50 million in allocations from the Governor’s Transportation Cost-Share Program.

The selected projects will be presented to the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for approval in January, according to a press release from Gov. Mike Parson.

“They turned down a lot of projects. They had $97 million in requests,” said Massingham. “We were fortunate enough to receive almost $6 million of that.”

Poplar Bluff would receive the third largest grant statewide from 20 projects to be funded by the program. Pettis County was granted almost $8.3 million for an interchange, and the city of Lee’s Summit $8 million for road improvements.

The Missouri Departments of Transportation (MoDOT) and Economic Development (DED) selected the projects with the goal of building partnerships with local entities to deliver road and bridge projects that have the greatest economic benefit to the state, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Missouri to turn infrastructure investments into workforce investments,” Parson said. “The number of applications shows that these partnerships are not only of great interest but of great benefit to Missourians. It also highlights that many unfunded transportation needs remain in our state.”

The city’s half of costs would be covered by the Highway 67 tax, which was extended by voters in August to cover work on the southern section of the road.

A project to four lane portions to the north will be paid for in 2020. Money collected after that time, until the original 2035 sunset, will help fund work on the southern route.

An additional 50-50 cost sharing effort will be applied for to cover two additional miles of work, Massingham said.