On Friday, the Missouri House approved its largest budget ever, equaling almost $51 billion. Southeast Missouri’s share will pay big dividends by adding momentum to Highway 67’s expansion into a four-lane interstate, part of a planned I-57 corridor stretching from Chicago to Little Rock.
“I feel so fantastic, I think this will really benefit the people of the district. This will be long-lasting, and money well spent,” said Rep. Hardy Billington of District 152.
The money is specifically earmarked to buy right-of-way land and move utility poles between Butler County Road 352 and the Arkansas state line, a stretch 8 miles long.
“We already got the engineering and environmental study done. We should be able to buy that land,” Billington explained.
Chairman Bill Robison of the Highway 67 Corporation agreed. “It puts us one step closer to construction. Once we have the right-of-way purchased and the utilities moved out of the corridor, it’s a shovel-ready project.”
Having the corridor ready to go will make it easier to acquire federal money to finish the job.
Robison explained federal grants look at “project readiness,” which indicates how quickly allocated money would be used. The corporation’s last grant application was submitted in February and applicants will be notified on June 28.
Billington said constructing the rest of the four-lane highway will take around $100 million.
“We send money to the federal government, and we need some of that sent back to help our district,” he said.
The planned I-57 corridor will attract more businesses and jobs to Southeast Missouri, according to Billington, helping communities beyond Poplar Bluff, including Fredericktown and Sikeston.
The Highway 67 Corporation has previously stated it will also make travel safer since divided-lane interstates decrease head-on collisions.
“The project saves lives and improves economic development in the area. When you look at the data, it’s doing that,” explained Robison.
The regional economic benefits convinced other state representatives to rally around the project. Billington thanked Darrell Atchison (District 153), Donnie Brown (District 149), Jamie Burger (District 148), Cameron Bunting Parker (District 150) and Mike McGirl (District 118) for lending their voices to the project. He was also grateful to Sen. Jason Bean for keeping Highway 67 on the table during Senate discussions and to Budget Committee Chair Cody Smith for his approval.
Robison added local officials including Poplar Bluff City Manager Matt Winters and Chamber Chairman Steve Halter to the list.
“Hardy spearheaded the effort but...I think there were lots of folks supporting this,” he said.
For Billington, the funding is a breakthrough in a process that began five years ago, when he was first elected.
“One of my top priorities was the highway to Arkansas,” he said. “The people of Poplar Bluff sacrificed a whole lot to get Highway 67 north, and sacrificed again for 67 south.